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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: tube · wake · land · wave · court · pop · fine · cell

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. court — for sport
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. court — of a king
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. pop — music
  9. fine — high quality
  10. wake — a trail
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. court — of law
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. land — a country
  22. pop — soda
  23. fine — all right
  24. cell — in biology

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