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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bark · bay · spell · bass · band · land · coach · straw

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. band — a ring
  4. bark — to shout
  5. land — a country
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. land — ground
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. land — to come down
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bass — the fish
  19. spell — letters
  20. bass — low music
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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