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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 116 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: cabinet · file · land · march · mark · straw · spell · band

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. band — a music group
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. march — the month
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. march — music
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. march — the month
  11. spell — a short time
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. band — a ring
  14. spell — magic
  15. file — a line of people
  16. spell — letters
  17. land — to come down
  18. mark — a trace
  19. land — ground
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. mark — a grade
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. land — a country
  24. file — a 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