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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: saw · wound · hand · squash · club · band · mine · tube

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. hand — in cards
  3. tube — a container
  4. saw — the tool
  5. band — a ring
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. mine — for digging
  9. hand — help
  10. club — for golf
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. club — a group
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. squash — the sport
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. club — for dancing

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