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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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 ring
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — in control
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a line of people
  9. band — a music group
  10. tube — a container
  11. file — a document
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. prune — to trim
  14. charge — electricity
  15. wound — an injury
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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