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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: band · march · roll · rule · tear · wake · file · row

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. row — to paddle
  4. file — a tool
  5. rule — government
  6. roll — a list
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. band — a music group
  9. file — a line of people
  10. tear — from crying
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. roll — a cake
  13. file — a document
  14. march — music
  15. band — a ring
  16. march — the month
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. row — a line
  21. rule — a law
  22. wake — a trail
  23. march — the month
  24. rule — to rule out

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