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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · kid · stand · track · file · band · pop · wound

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. file — a tool
  3. pop — to visit
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pop — music
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. file — a document
  11. track — a path
  12. kid — child
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. band — a music group
  15. file — a line of people
  16. band — a ring
  17. wound — an injury
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pop — soda
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — to bear

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