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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 120 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: mine · band · pound · mouse · plane · key · march · straw

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. band — a ring
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. key — for a lock
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. pound — a weight
  12. key — in music
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. march — music
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mine — for digging
  17. march — the month
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. key — the most important part
  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