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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 · cabinet · bass · clip · press · coach · degree · spring

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. press — newspapers
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spring — of water
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bass — the fish
  10. spring — the season
  11. degree — from a university
  12. band — a music group
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. degree — temperature
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. press — to push
  20. press — a publisher
  21. degree — an amount
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cabinet — ministers

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