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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: key · present · bass · fan · cell · file · root · band

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. band — a ring
  4. bass — the fish
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. key — for a lock
  7. root — the cause
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. root — of a word
  10. band — a music group
  11. key — the most important part
  12. present — a gift
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. key — in music
  16. present — the time now
  17. bass — low music
  18. cell — a phone
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. file — a tool
  21. present — there
  22. cell — in biology
  23. root — of a plant
  24. file — a document

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