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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: tube · wave · content · game · band · field · ball · jam

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. tube — a container
  9. ball — a dance
  10. band — a music group
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. game — a match
  16. field — for sport
  17. ball — a great time
  18. game — wild animals
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. content — the amount
  23. band — a ring
  24. content — videos and posts

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