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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. net — after costs
  4. tear — from crying
  5. staff — a stick
  6. season — in sport
  7. file — a line of people
  8. saw — the tool
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. staff — employees
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. band — a ring
  14. file — a document
  15. net — in sport
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. net — for catching
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. season — of the year
  23. staff — employees
  24. file — a tool

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