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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. band — a ring
  5. bank — for money
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. band — a music group
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spring — of water
  11. wind — moving air
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pound — a weight
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — of a river
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. spring — the season

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