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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: scale · straw · bat · bound · key · rock · band · land

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bat — the animal
  4. land — a country
  5. band — a ring
  6. rock — music
  7. band — a music group
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bound — certain
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. key — for a lock
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bound — tied together
  16. scale — in music
  17. land — to come down
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. key — in music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. land — ground
  22. bound — obliged
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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