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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.

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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: band · bay · toast · pop · cold · key · rush · wound

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wound — an injury
  11. key — for a lock
  12. toast — bread
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. band — a music group
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cold — an illness

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