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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 116 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. file — a tool
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. drill — a practice
  5. scale — size or range
  6. band — a ring
  7. rule — government
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. scale — in music
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pass — a permit
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. file — a document
  20. drill — the tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rule — a law
  23. band — a music group
  24. drill — army training

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