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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: file · roll · patient · band · club · pit · last · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. club — for golf
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. last — final
  6. band — a music group
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. file — a document
  11. pit — a hole
  12. last — finally
  13. club — a group
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a ring
  16. file — a tool
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — a list
  20. club — for dancing
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. last — to go on
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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