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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. date — the fruit
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. capital — a city
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. file — a line of people
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. game — wild animals
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. capital — money
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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