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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 · file · dip · wind · drill · rule

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. drill — army training
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — the tool
  7. rule — a law
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rule — government
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. file — a line of people
  13. drill — a practice
  14. band — a ring
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wind — moving air

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