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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. band — a music group
  4. rash — a series
  5. court — of law
  6. bank — of a river
  7. capital — a city
  8. bank — for money
  9. rash — hasty
  10. file — a line of people
  11. court — for sport
  12. capital — money
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. court — of a king
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. hand — help
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spell — letters
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. band — a ring
  22. spell — magic
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bank — for money

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