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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: band · tear · bulb · chest · land · rash · file · mark

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — ground
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. mark — a trace
  8. land — to come down
  9. band — a ring
  10. bulb — for light
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bulb — for light
  14. file — a document
  15. tear — to rip
  16. land — a country
  17. rash — a series
  18. band — a music group
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. file — a line of people
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. rash — on the skin

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