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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 116 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. band — a music group
  7. bank — for money
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. shower — to wash
  11. key — in music
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bass — low music
  15. shower — rain
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bat — the animal
  21. key — for a lock
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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