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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. file — a document
  3. band — a music group
  4. rule — government
  5. mine — for digging
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. file — a line of people
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. staff — employees
  16. rule — a law
  17. band — a ring
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. file — a tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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