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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 120 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: land · field · season · cabinet · stick · saw · band · track

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. track — to keep track
  3. band — a music group
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. field — farmland
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. track — a path
  14. land — a country
  15. field — for sport
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. track — a song
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. field — a subject
  20. band — a ring
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. land — ground
  24. saw — the tool

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