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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 120 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
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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: mine · tear · staff · tube · last · arm · land · band

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. staff — a stick
  6. band — a ring
  7. staff — employees
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. staff — employees
  11. tube — a container
  12. tear — to rip
  13. band — a music group
  14. tear — from crying
  15. land — to come down
  16. tube — the underground
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tear — from crying
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. last — to go on
  24. land — a country

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