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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. last — to go on
  3. key — for a lock
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bank — of a river
  6. mark — a trace
  7. file — a document
  8. march — the month
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. last — final
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bank — for money
  15. last — finally
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. key — in music
  18. key — the most important part
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bank — for money
  21. march — music
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. march — the month
  24. bowl — a dish

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