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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 116 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: bound · race · fine · clip · bay · band · field · nail

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bound — tied together
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. clip — a video
  10. fine — all right
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. race — humankind
  13. bound — obliged
  14. band — a music group
  15. bound — certain
  16. field — farmland
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. race — the arms race
  19. clip — to cut
  20. race — a contest
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. band — a ring
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fine — high quality

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