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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. track — to keep track
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. band — a ring
  16. pound — a weight
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. track — a path
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. mine — for digging
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. track — a song

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