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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
468
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 · pitcher · staff · lie · content · tube · cell · mine

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. band — a ring
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tube — the underground
  7. lie — to recline
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cell — a phone
  13. tube — a container
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. staff — employees
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. content — the amount
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. staff — employees
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. band — a music group
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. staff — a stick

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