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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. firm — decided
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. band — a ring
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. firm — steady
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. drill — army training
  13. cold — an illness
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. drill — the tool
  18. net — in sport
  19. firm — a company
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — not warm
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. net — after costs

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