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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pit · band · key · coach · spring · rash · bulb · kid

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. band — a music group
  5. pit — in a race
  6. key — for a lock
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bulb — for light
  15. spring — of water
  16. bulb — for light
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. kid — child
  19. spring — a coil
  20. key — the most important part
  21. spring — the season
  22. pit — a hole
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bulb — of a plant

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