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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · club · hide · chest · band · track · rock · spell

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — for dancing
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. club — for golf
  6. track — to keep track
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. spell — letters
  9. hand — in cards
  10. band — a ring
  11. club — a group
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spell — a short time
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. rock — music
  16. track — a path
  17. spell — magic
  18. track — a song
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. chest — a box
  21. hand — help
  22. band — a music group
  23. rock — a stone
  24. hide — animal skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com