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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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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: nail · net · jam · wake · band · roll · bass · cold

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. net — in sport
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. bass — low music
  7. net — after costs
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wake — a trail
  10. band — a music group
  11. net — for catching
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. cold — not warm
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. band — a ring
  23. roll — a cake
  24. nail — for a hammer

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