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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. march — music
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. march — the month
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. plane — a tool
  24. march — the month

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