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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
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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: arm · tube · band · game · tear · current · cell · land

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. current — electric
  5. band — a ring
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tube — a container
  12. current — of water
  13. tear — to rip
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. land — ground
  20. game — a match
  21. tube — the underground
  22. current — happening now
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. band — a music group

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