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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.

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: season · tube · bass · chip · face · band · bat · tear

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. band — a music group
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — low music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chip — for betting
  19. band — a ring
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bat — the animal
  23. face — to confront
  24. chip — to eat

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