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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: leaves · band · spell · race · kid · tube · saw · sharp

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spell — letters
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. band — a music group
  11. saw — the tool
  12. race — a contest
  13. sharp — clever
  14. spell — magic
  15. kid — child
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. kid — to tease
  18. race — the arms race
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. spell — a short time
  21. race — humankind
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. saw — the tool
  24. band — a ring

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