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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: bay · club · bat · key · band · clip · leaves · spring

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. club — for dancing
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. key — in music
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. key — for a lock
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. key — the most important part
  18. clip — a video
  19. club — a group
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. club — for golf
  23. band — a ring
  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