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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. march — the month
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bound — certain
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ball — a great time
  7. file — a tool
  8. bound — obliged
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. march — the month
  12. root — of a word
  13. bank — for money
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. root — the cause
  16. bank — of a river
  17. band — a music group
  18. ball — a dance
  19. march — music
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bank — for money
  22. cold — not warm
  23. file — a document
  24. bound — tied together

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