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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · land · bank · band · tube · perch · content · stand

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — a container
  3. land — ground
  4. content — happy
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. land — to come down
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. perch — the fish
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bank — for money
  12. band — a music group
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. land — a country
  15. bank — of a river
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bank — for money
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. content — the amount
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — on your feet

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