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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.

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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 · row · plane · land · temple · tube · court · file

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. tube — a container
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. land — ground
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. land — to come down
  6. tube — the underground
  7. court — of law
  8. land — a country
  9. row — to paddle
  10. file — a line of people
  11. court — of a king
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. row — a line
  14. file — a document
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. band — a music group
  17. file — a tool
  18. plane — a tool
  19. court — for sport
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. band — a ring
  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