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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rule — a law
  4. band — a ring
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. file — a line of people
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bank — for money
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chip — to eat
  20. hand — help
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — of a river
  24. rule — government

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