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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: staff · band · field · bowl · present · jam · tube · clip

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. present — there
  3. clip — for paper
  4. staff — employees
  5. tube — the underground
  6. clip — to cut
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. field — a subject
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. staff — a stick
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. staff — employees
  17. tube — a container
  18. present — a gift
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. present — the time now
  21. field — for sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. field — farmland

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