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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: bear · wind · band · club · shower · key · saw · bowl

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. band — a ring
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. club — a group
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. key — the most important part
  10. club — for dancing
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. key — for a lock
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. key — in music
  22. band — a music group
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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