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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: bank · shower · arm · key · bat · tube · band · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. tube — the underground
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bank — for money
  6. band — a ring
  7. tube — a container
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. band — a music group
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bank — for money
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bank — of a river
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. shower — to wash
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. key — in music
  21. key — for a lock
  22. shower — rain
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. key — the most important part

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