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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. file — a tool
  5. band — a ring
  6. rule — a law
  7. mate — a partner
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. band — a music group
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. file — a document
  12. wax — to grow
  13. mark — a trace
  14. last — final
  15. board — to get on
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — to breed
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mark — a grade
  21. board — a committee
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. rule — government
  24. last — to go on

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