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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: clip · land · bore · band · tube · saw · suit · coach

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. tube — the underground
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. suit — to fit
  8. tube — a container
  9. land — a country
  10. bore — to tire
  11. band — a ring
  12. suit — clothes
  13. land — to come down
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. clip — for paper
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. saw — the tool
  18. suit — in cards
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bore — to drill
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — to cut
  23. land — ground
  24. clip — a video

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