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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: band · wave · land · tube · object · mug · court · straw

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. court — for sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — to protest
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. court — of law
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. mug — to rob
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — the underground
  18. court — of a king
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. land — a country
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. object — a thing
  23. band — a ring
  24. mug — a face

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