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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: key · ball · spring · lash · band · tear

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. ball — a great time
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. tear — to rip
  7. key — in music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. spring — of water
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. ball — a dance
  16. key — for a lock
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season

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