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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: cabinet · band · mine · toast · bank · last · kid · bass

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. band — a music group
  7. kid — child
  8. bass — low music
  9. mine — for digging
  10. toast — bread
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. bank — for money
  15. band — a ring
  16. last — final
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bank — for money
  21. last — finally
  22. bank — of a river
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. last — to go on

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