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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. band — a ring
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. drill — the tool
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. drill — a practice
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. prune — to trim
  16. sharp — clever
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. prune — to trim
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. band — a music group
  22. file — a document
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. band — a rubber band

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