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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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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 · spring · tube · pit · cell · hand · staff · stick

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. band — a music group
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. staff — employees
  8. spring — a coil
  9. tube — a container
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pit — a hole
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cell — a phone
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. spring — of water
  17. cell — in biology
  18. band — a ring
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. hand — help
  21. pit — in a race
  22. tube — the underground
  23. hand — in cards
  24. spring — the season

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