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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · fan · ruler · cap · field · file · band · bark

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. file — a line of people
  3. band — a ring
  4. cap — a hat
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — farmland
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. file — a document
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bark — to shout
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. band — a music group
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. file — a tool
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fan — to cool the air

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