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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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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: band · file · bass · board · saw · pitcher · hand · mine

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hand — help
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. file — a document
  6. board — a committee
  7. band — a ring
  8. saw — the tool
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. file — a line of people
  14. band — a music group
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bass — the fish
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. file — a tool
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. board — to get on
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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