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

Word bank: band · rule · kick · file · field · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. file — a line of people
  3. drill — a practice
  4. field — a subject
  5. kick — in football
  6. drill — the tool
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. rule — government
  11. file — a document
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. file — a tool
  15. band — a ring
  16. field — farmland
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. field — for sport

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