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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. key — the most important part
  4. band — a ring
  5. key — for a lock
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. hand — help
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. band — a music group
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. march — music
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. key — in music
  19. march — the month
  20. bass — the fish
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. march — the month

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