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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.

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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: calf · tube · band · stock · bat · sharp · land · mine

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. land — to come down
  4. band — a ring
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tube — a container
  8. mine — for digging
  9. land — ground
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. band — a music group
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. tube — the underground
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. land — a country
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stock — shares
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stock — goods
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. sharp — clever
  24. mine — belonging to me

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