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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 116 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 · ball · saw · pitcher · band · row · court · prune

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. row — a line
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. court — of a king
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. saw — the tool
  12. row — to paddle
  13. ball — a great time
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tube — a container
  16. court — of law
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. saw — the tool
  20. court — for sport
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. band — a music group
  24. ball — a dance

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