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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: band · tube · present · cell · bowl · perch · plane · squash

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. perch — the fish
  4. present — the time now
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. squash — the sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. present — there
  9. present — a gift
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. tube — the underground
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cell — a phone
  17. band — a ring
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. tube — a container
  22. cell — in biology
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bowl — a football final

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