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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
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: band · leaves · land · court · track · field · mate · kick

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. band — a ring
  5. track — a path
  6. mate — a friend
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. court — of law
  9. mate — a partner
  10. field — for sport
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. band — a music group
  13. court — of a king
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. track — a song
  16. field — farmland
  17. land — ground
  18. mate — to breed
  19. court — for sport
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. field — a subject
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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