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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. file — a tool
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rule — government
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. march — the month
  14. pound — a weight
  15. file — a document
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. march — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rule — a law
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. squash — to crush
  24. march — the month

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