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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: spell · sharp · band · land · content · tube · straw · trunk

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. band — a music group
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. land — to come down
  8. sharp — clever
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. land — a country
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. content — the amount
  15. band — a ring
  16. land — ground
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. content — happy
  22. spell — letters
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spell — a short time

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