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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: hand · bound · band · tube · spring · club · fine · pop

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bound — certain
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hand — help
  6. bound — obliged
  7. band — a music group
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. fine — high quality
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bound — tied together
  13. pop — music
  14. band — a ring
  15. club — for golf
  16. pop — to visit
  17. spring — the season
  18. fine — all right
  19. spring — of water
  20. club — for dancing
  21. pop — soda
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. club — a 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