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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: chair · pit · band · bank · track · bowl · roll · clip

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  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. track — a path
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bank — for money
  8. clip — a video
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a song
  11. roll — a cake
  12. band — a ring
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. bank — for money
  17. clip — for paper
  18. band — a music group
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a list
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bowl — a dish
  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