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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spring — the season
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spring — of water
  7. band — a music group
  8. net — after costs
  9. bass — low music
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. spring — a coil
  13. net — for catching
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. net — in sport
  16. rock — music
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bass — the fish
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rock — a stone

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