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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: cold · saw · leaves · band · rule · mouse · wave · bass

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. band — a music group
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. rule — a law
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rule — government
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. band — a rubber band

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