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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fine — all right
  3. file — a document
  4. bat — the animal
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. face — part of the head
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. band — a ring
  11. track — a song
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. fine — high quality
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. file — a tool
  20. band — a music group
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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