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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. drill — a practice
  6. current — happening now
  7. plane — a tool
  8. file — a tool
  9. drill — the tool
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. current — electric
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. current — of water
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. drill — army training
  20. file — a document
  21. band — a music group
  22. file — a line of people
  23. deal — to handle
  24. plane — in geometry

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