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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · prune · pitcher · club · tube · band · leaves · court

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. band — a music group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. land — to come down
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. court — for sport
  8. tube — a container
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. land — ground
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. club — a group
  13. tube — the underground
  14. club — for golf
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — a country
  19. court — of a king
  20. band — a ring
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. court — of law
  24. prune — to trim

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