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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. file — a tool
  3. field — for sport
  4. fall — the season
  5. staff — employees
  6. fall — to drop
  7. file — a document
  8. band — a music group
  9. fork — in a road
  10. field — farmland
  11. staff — a stick
  12. field — a subject
  13. band — a ring
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. ball — a great time
  24. file — a line of people

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