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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: mine · wind · rash · trunk · sharp · roll · drill · file

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. roll — a list
  4. drill — army training
  5. roll — a cake
  6. file — a document
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. sharp — clever
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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