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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. spring — of water
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. land — to come down
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. band — a ring
  8. bass — the fish
  9. land — ground
  10. content — the amount
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. bass — low music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. spring — the season
  15. land — a country
  16. tube — a container
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. content — happy
  19. spring — a coil
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. tube — the underground
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bass — the instrument

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