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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: saw · pound · bass · plane · band · fork · spring · kid

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. saw — the tool
  4. band — a music group
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bass — low music
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. saw — the tool
  11. plane — a tool
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pound — a weight
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. kid — child
  20. spring — the season
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bass — the fish
  24. kid — to tease

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