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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 120 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
468
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 · track · leaves · shower · cell · band · pitch · capital

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. track — a path
  3. cell — a phone
  4. capital — money
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cell — in biology
  7. shower — to wash
  8. track — to keep track
  9. capital — a city
  10. game — a match
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. shower — rain
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. track — a song
  18. band — a music group
  19. pitch — completely
  20. band — a ring
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. game — wild animals

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