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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. band — a music group
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a grade
  5. tear — from crying
  6. swing — to play on
  7. band — a ring
  8. mark — a trace
  9. file — a document
  10. mug — a face
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mug — a cup
  14. roll — a cake
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mug — to rob
  20. swing — music
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. file — a line of people
  23. tear — from crying
  24. roll — a list

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