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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. capital — money
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. mark — a grade
  8. band — a music group
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. mark — a trace
  11. band — a ring
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. plane — a tool

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