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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. key — for a lock
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. land — ground
  6. bass — low music
  7. key — in music
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bass — the fish
  10. content — happy
  11. tube — the underground
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. land — a country
  15. key — the most important part
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bank — for money
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — the amount
  21. land — to come down
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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