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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: sharp · jam · band · land · trunk · chest · pop · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. land — ground
  3. chest — of your body
  4. can — a tin
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. sharp — clever
  9. land — a country
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. band — a ring
  12. chest — of your body
  13. band — a music group
  14. land — to come down
  15. pop — music
  16. chest — a box
  17. pop — soda
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. can — a tin
  20. pop — to visit
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. trunk — of a tree

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