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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: wound · rash · plane · band · bass · coach · straw · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. band — a ring
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. present — a gift
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bass — low music
  8. present — the time now
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. rash — hasty
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a music group

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