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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: rock · tube · deal · plane · roll · band · land · pitch

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. band — a music group
  3. roll — a cake
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a list
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. deal — to handle
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. rock — music
  12. land — ground
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. band — a ring
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. land — a country
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. tube — a container
  20. land — to come down
  21. rock — a stone
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — a tool
  24. pitch — completely

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