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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. land — ground
  3. tube — the underground
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. land — a country
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pop — soda
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spell — letters
  11. band — a music group
  12. tube — a container
  13. pop — music
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pass — a permit
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. spell — magic
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pitch — completely
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. land — to come down

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