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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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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cell — a phone
  3. file — a tool
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. file — a document
  13. drill — army training
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. drill — a practice
  18. tube — a container

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