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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. band — a music group
  3. file — a line of people
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. file — a tool
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. row — a line
  9. toast — bread
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. track — to keep track
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. row — to paddle
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. kid — child
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. file — a document
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. band — a ring
  21. track — a song
  22. track — a path
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. mine — for digging

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