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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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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: cap · land · rock · key · band · kid · net · swing

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. swing — in golf
  3. net — in sport
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rock — music
  6. net — after costs
  7. land — to come down
  8. kid — child
  9. net — for catching
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. cap — of ice
  12. land — ground
  13. key — the most important part
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. swing — music
  16. rock — a stone
  17. swing — to play on
  18. kid — to tease
  19. band — a ring
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. land — a country

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