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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 116 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: hand · ball · bank · spring · rule · bulb · band · last

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. last — to go on
  3. bank — for money
  4. rule — government
  5. band — a ring
  6. bulb — for light
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spring — the season
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bulb — for light
  12. ball — a dance
  13. band — a music group
  14. last — finally
  15. rule — a law
  16. last — final
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. spring — of water
  19. bank — of a river
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bank — for money
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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