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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. tube — the underground
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. firm — steady
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. band — a music group
  9. row — to paddle
  10. firm — decided
  11. cell — a phone
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cell — in biology
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. firm — a company
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. deal — to handle
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. row — a line
  24. band — a rubber band

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