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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. band — a music group
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. land — a country
  6. band — a ring
  7. deal — to handle
  8. court — for sport
  9. land — to come down
  10. court — of law
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. track — a song
  13. lean — to bend
  14. land — ground
  15. lean — thin
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. saw — the tool
  18. court — of a king
  19. track — to keep track
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. track — a path
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — a container
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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