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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. band — a music group
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. tube — a container
  9. can — a tin
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hand — help
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. rock — music
  20. spring — a coil
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. rock — a stone
  24. branch — a division

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