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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: pop · fan · rock · chest · club · band · bat · bark

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. club — a group
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. band — a ring
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. band — a music group
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pop — soda
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chest — of your body
  13. club — for golf
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rock — a stone
  16. pop — music
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. club — for dancing
  23. rock — music
  24. fan — to cool the air

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