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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 120 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: mug · tube · cell · bark · field · bass · band · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. field — a subject
  9. band — a music group
  10. bass — the fish
  11. band — a ring
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bass — low music
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. cell — in biology
  16. mug — a face
  17. tube — the underground
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cell — a phone
  21. tube — a container
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. tube — in a tire

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