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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: cell · fall · tube · pitcher · plane · bound · rash · bank

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cell — in biology
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bound — certain
  9. rash — a series
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bank — for money
  13. fall — the season
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bank — for money
  16. bound — tied together
  17. fall — to drop
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bank — of a river
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fall — to drop
  24. plane — in geometry

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