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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: cold · bass · wind · object · key · band · bear · prune

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. object — a thing
  6. band — a music group
  7. cold — not warm
  8. object — to protest
  9. bass — low music
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bass — the fish
  13. key — in music
  14. band — a ring
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — the most important part
  18. wind — moving air
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. key — for a lock
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bear — the animal
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bear — to put up with

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