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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: tube · key · leaves · wound · rock · band · craft · spring

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. rock — a stone
  4. craft — a skill
  5. band — a ring
  6. key — for a lock
  7. tube — the underground
  8. band — a music group
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. craft — boats
  15. tube — a container
  16. key — in music
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. spring — a coil
  19. key — the most important part
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. spring — the season
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. spring — of water
  24. wound — an injury

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