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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
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: nail · land · tube · pound · cell · hand · dip · coach

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cell — a phone
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. hand — in cards
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. land — ground
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. hand — help
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. land — a country
  16. dip — to sink
  17. tube — the underground
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pound — a weight
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. cell — in biology
  24. tube — a container

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