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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. file — a document
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. rest — a break
  5. band — a ring
  6. wake — a trail
  7. band — a music group
  8. file — a line of people
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. file — a tool
  16. branch — a division
  17. rest — what's left
  18. nail — for a hammer

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