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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: dip · band · tube · land · bulb · kid · lie · chip

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lie — to recline
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. land — to come down
  7. bulb — for light
  8. kid — child
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. tube — the underground
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. tube — a container
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. band — a music group
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chip — for betting
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chip — to eat

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