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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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Word bank
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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: field · file · wave · rest · roll · band · rule · bore

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. rule — a law
  3. file — a line of people
  4. band — a music group
  5. file — a document
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. field — farmland
  8. roll — a list
  9. file — a tool
  10. bore — to drill
  11. field — a subject
  12. rule — government
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. roll — a cake
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. band — a ring
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. rest — a break
  21. field — for sport
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. roll — on a roll

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