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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: club · cap · race · hand · field · bass · bay · track

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. field — farmland
  4. track — a path
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bass — low music
  9. race — humankind
  10. field — for sport
  11. hand — help
  12. cap — of ice
  13. track — a song
  14. cap — a hat
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. race — a contest
  18. track — to keep track
  19. field — a subject
  20. race — the arms race
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — a group
  23. bass — the fish
  24. hand — part of the body

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