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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: ball · rule · toast · band · cell · tube · march · wound

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. toast — bread
  3. march — music
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rule — a law
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wound — an injury
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. ball — a great time
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rule — government
  19. march — the month
  20. tube — a container
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rule — to rule out

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