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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. key — for a lock
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wound — an injury
  7. game — wild animals
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. key — the most important part
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. band — a ring
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container
  19. game — a match
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. key — in music
  23. file — a tool
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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