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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 · file · wind · temple · field · pound · staff · nail

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. file — a document
  3. field — farmland
  4. staff — employees
  5. wind — moving air
  6. band — a ring
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. band — a music group
  10. staff — employees
  11. field — for sport
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pound — a weight
  14. file — a tool
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. staff — a stick
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. file — a line of people
  22. field — a subject
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wind — to turn a key

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