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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mug — a face
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. band — a ring
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a document
  12. mug — a cup
  13. game — a match
  14. drill — the tool
  15. file — a tool
  16. bank — of a river
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bank — for money
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. saw — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. band — a rubber band

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