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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: wave · trunk · cap · band · race · field · content · track

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. field — a subject
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. band — a music group
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. race — humankind
  10. track — a path
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. track — to keep track
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. field — farmland
  15. content — happy
  16. race — the arms race
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. content — the amount
  22. field — for sport
  23. track — a song
  24. band — a ring

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