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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. file — a tool
  4. pit — a hole
  5. season — in sport
  6. band — a music group
  7. pit — in a race
  8. game — a match
  9. band — a ring
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. suit — clothes
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wax — to grow
  16. file — a line of people
  17. game — wild animals
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. file — a document
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. season — of the year
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — in cards

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