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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: spell · mine · hide · deal · track · last · band · mouse

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. last — to go on
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. spell — letters
  6. track — a path
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. band — a ring
  11. last — final
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. band — a music group
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. track — a song
  21. last — finally
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. hide — to keep secret

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