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

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. land — ground
  4. rule — government
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cell — a phone
  8. band — a music group
  9. tube — the underground
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stem — to come from
  13. land — to come down
  14. court — for sport
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. court — of a king
  17. rule — a law
  18. court — of law
  19. tube — a container
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. land — a country
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. rule — to rule out

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