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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. file — a document
  3. bank — for money
  4. net — after costs
  5. band — a music group
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — to go on
  9. file — a tool
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. last — final
  12. net — in sport
  13. bank — of a river
  14. file — a line of people
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bank — for money
  22. net — for catching
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. band — a ring

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