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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · band · cell · wind · saw · cap

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. club — for golf
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cap — a hat
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cap — of ice
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. saw — the tool

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