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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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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: bound · tube · land · ruler · rash · band · stem · squash

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. band — a music group
  4. rash — a series
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. squash — to crush
  9. band — a ring
  10. stem — to come from
  11. land — a country
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. squash — the sport
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. tube — a container
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bound — obliged
  22. land — ground
  23. land — to come down
  24. ruler — for measuring

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