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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: drill · tube · band · stem · net · land · plane · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. tube — the underground
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. net — in sport
  8. band — a music group
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. band — a ring
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. land — a country
  16. net — after costs
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. net — for catching
  19. stem — to come from
  20. plane — a tool
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. drill — army training
  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