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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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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: swing · cell · track · band · ground · race · saw · fork

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. track — a song
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fork — in a road
  6. band — a music group
  7. cell — in biology
  8. swing — music
  9. race — the arms race
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. track — a path
  13. saw — the tool
  14. race — a contest
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ground — a position
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. track — to keep track
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. race — humankind
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. band — a rubber band

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