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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 120 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: band · saw · tube · cue · wind · cold · key · rock

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tube — the underground
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rock — a stone
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. band — a ring
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cue — a hint
  10. key — for a lock
  11. rock — music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. key — in music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. cold — not warm
  17. key — the most important part
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. band — a music group
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. tube — a container

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