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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. file — a line of people
  4. land — a country
  5. file — a tool
  6. band — a music group
  7. date — the fruit
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. scale — size or range
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. key — the most important part
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. branch — a division
  17. file — a document
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. band — a ring
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

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