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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.

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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: pass · kid · track · content · field · band · wave · chest

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a music group
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. track — a path
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. field — farmland
  13. chest — a box
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. content — the amount
  16. band — a ring
  17. kid — child
  18. chest — of your body
  19. track — a song
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. field — a subject
  22. track — to keep track
  23. field — for sport
  24. pass — a permit

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