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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bank — for money
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bound — tied together
  6. staff — employees
  7. roll — a cake
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. last — final
  12. can — to be able to
  13. staff — employees
  14. bound — obliged
  15. last — to go on
  16. file — a tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. can — a tin
  19. roll — a list
  20. bound — certain
  21. file — a line of people
  22. drill — a practice
  23. file — a document
  24. last — finally

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