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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a tool
  5. rule — a law
  6. squash — the sport
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. squash — to crush
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mark — a trace
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. rule — government
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. mark — a grade
  18. file — a line of people

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