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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: band · can · game · rock · tube · last · kid · tear

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. game — wild animals
  3. tube — the underground
  4. kid — child
  5. tube — a container
  6. last — finally
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. band — a ring
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. can — a tin
  13. last — final
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. tear — from crying
  18. can — a tin
  19. last — to go on
  20. tear — from crying
  21. game — a match
  22. band — a music group
  23. tear — to rip
  24. game — a kind of play

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