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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: pass · content · spring · saw · kid · bass · wind · band

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. band — a music group
  3. spring — a coil
  4. content — the amount
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. band — a ring
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — child
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spring — the season
  15. kid — to tease
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. content — happy
  19. bass — the fish
  20. spring — of water
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. band — a rubber band

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