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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: game · band · fan · land · wound · track · drill · foot

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. land — a country
  6. drill — a practice
  7. band — a music group
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. band — a ring
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a match
  13. foot — a measure
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. land — ground
  19. game — wild animals
  20. track — a path
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. fan — a supporter

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