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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: ball · cold · track · saw · staff · rock · key · band

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ball — a great time
  3. key — the most important part
  4. rock — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. staff — a stick
  8. key — in music
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — a stone
  11. track — a path
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cold — an illness
  14. track — to keep track
  15. staff — employees
  16. saw — the tool
  17. staff — employees
  18. key — for a lock
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. track — a song
  24. saw — the tool

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