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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: squash · hand · bass · band · mate · coach · club · spring

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. hand — help
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bass — low music
  8. club — for dancing
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bass — the fish
  12. squash — the sport
  13. hand — in cards
  14. band — a ring
  15. spring — the season
  16. band — a music group
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. squash — to crush
  19. club — for golf
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spring — of water
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. spring — a coil

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