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

Word bank: straw · key · band · stand · bat · file

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bat — the animal
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. band — a ring
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. stand — to bear
  12. key — in music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. key — the most important part
  15. file — a tool
  16. band — a music group
  17. key — for a lock
  18. stand — for spectators

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