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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 116 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: spring · cabinet · band · hand · ruler · bat · pop · leaves

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bat — the animal
  3. band — a music group
  4. pop — soda
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. hand — in cards
  7. band — a ring
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. hand — help
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. pop — music
  20. spring — the season
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pop — to visit

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