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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 120 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: band · cabinet · pop · net · cell · cold · key · wave

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. band — a ring
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cell — a phone
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. band — a music group
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. key — the most important part
  17. pop — to visit
  18. net — for catching
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. pop — soda
  22. key — in music
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pop — music

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