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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 120 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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. tear — from crying
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. band — a music group
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. spring — a coil
  8. band — a ring
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. season — in sport
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bore — to tire
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. tear — to rip
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — of the year
  24. bore — to drill

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