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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. current — happening now
  3. band — a music group
  4. file — a document
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. capital — money
  7. file — a tool
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. current — electric
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stem — to come from
  13. current — of water
  14. capital — a city
  15. drill — the tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. file — a line of people
  18. drill — a practice

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