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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · bowl · file · last · band · ground

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. file — a tool
  3. ground — the earth
  4. band — a music group
  5. last — to go on
  6. drill — the tool
  7. band — a ring
  8. ground — a position
  9. file — a line of people
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. file — a document
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. last — final
  18. ground — crushed

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