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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: deal · row · pit · stand · wave · mine · band · cell

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. band — a music group
  3. cell — in biology
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stand — to bear
  7. deal — to handle
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. row — a line
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. band — a ring
  24. deal — an agreement

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