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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. chip — to eat
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. mark — a trace
  5. tube — the underground
  6. drill — a practice
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. tube — a container
  9. drill — the tool
  10. file — a tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. band — a music group
  13. file — a document
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. file — a line of people
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. mark — a grade
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chip — for betting
  24. lash — to lash out

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