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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: wind · bear · jam · band · mine · hand · snap · bass

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. band — a ring
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. hand — in cards
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. wind — moving air
  11. snap — to click
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bass — low music
  20. bear — the animal
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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