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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. drill — army training
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. race — humankind
  6. fine — all right
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. race — the arms race
  11. file — a tool
  12. wake — a trail
  13. race — a contest
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. fine — high quality
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cue — a hint
  19. drill — the tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. drill — a practice
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. file — a document

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