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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: firm · tube · hand · band · pitcher · fan · file · content

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. band — a music group
  4. firm — decided
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. tube — a container
  9. file — a line of people
  10. firm — a company
  11. content — happy
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. band — a ring
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. content — the amount
  17. file — a document
  18. tube — the underground
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. firm — steady
  22. file — a tool
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pitcher — a jug

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