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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. lie — to recline
  7. staff — employees
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. season — of the year
  10. field — a subject
  11. prune — to trim
  12. field — farmland
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. prune — to trim
  16. file — a line of people
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. staff — employees
  19. face — to point toward
  20. season — in sport
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. staff — a stick
  24. field — for sport

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