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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: file · fan · net · staff · snap · cabinet · band · pound

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. snap — to click
  3. pound — a weight
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. staff — employees
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. net — for catching
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. file — a tool
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. band — a music group
  19. net — in sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. file — a line of people
  22. net — after costs
  23. file — a document
  24. cabinet — ministers

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