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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 120 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rock — music
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. band — a ring
  8. wound — an injury
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. key — in music
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a music group
  17. key — for a lock
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. key — the most important part

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