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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: patient · band · pitch · lash · hand · bass · key · wind

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. band — a music group
  5. key — for a lock
  6. hand — help
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wind — moving air
  11. key — the most important part
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. key — in music
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. hand — in cards
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. lash — an eyelash

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