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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
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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: field · land · snap · vault · band · track · mate · net

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mate — a partner
  3. net — after costs
  4. track — a path
  5. snap — to click
  6. field — for sport
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. net — in sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. mate — to breed
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — a safe
  14. land — ground
  15. track — a song
  16. field — farmland
  17. mate — a friend
  18. land — a country
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. track — to keep track
  21. land — to come down
  22. field — a subject
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. net — for catching

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