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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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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 · bank · content · tube · cell · plane · cold · ruler

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. tube — a container
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cold — an illness
  6. content — happy
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. band — a ring
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. content — the amount
  11. cell — a phone
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cold — not warm
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. plane — a tool
  22. tube — the underground
  23. bank — for money
  24. ruler — for measuring

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