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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. file — a document
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wind — moving air
  6. band — a ring
  7. march — the month
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. march — the month
  13. file — a tool
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. plane — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. band — a music group
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wake — a trail

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