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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bark · bowl · file · bass · jam · band · bat

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bass — the fish
  3. band — a music group
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. band — a ring
  8. bat — the animal
  9. key — for a lock
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bass — low music
  23. key — in music
  24. key — the most important part

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