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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. key — in music
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bound — certain
  11. saw — the tool
  12. capital — a city
  13. bound — obliged
  14. band — a music group
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. bass — low music
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. key — the most important part
  21. band — a ring
  22. fork — in a road
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bass — the fish

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