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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: key · fall · chip · band · straw · cold · bulb · scale

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a music group
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. band — a ring
  5. fall — to drop
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bulb — for light
  8. key — the most important part
  9. fall — the season
  10. cold — an illness
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — in music
  14. chip — to eat
  15. key — in music
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cold — not warm
  24. straw — dry grass

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