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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: drill · shower · file · band · calf · rule · coach · pound

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. shower — to wash
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — rain
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rule — government
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. drill — army training
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. pound — a weight
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. rule — a law
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. band — a music group
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. file — a tool
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. drill — the tool

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