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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: stand · band · file · roll · hand · bank · arm · field

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. file — a line of people
  4. band — a ring
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. file — a document
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stand — to bear
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. band — a music group
  14. file — a tool
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. roll — a list
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. hand — in cards
  24. field — farmland

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