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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 120 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: bass · band · cell · tube · squash · game · saw · sharp

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. game — wild animals
  3. band — a ring
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. band — a music group
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cell — a phone
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bass — the fish
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tube — a container
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bass — low music
  19. sharp — clever
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. game — a match
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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