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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: file · lie · nail · band · cold · rash · object · bat

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a music group
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. file — a document
  5. object — an aim
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rash — a series
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. file — a line of people
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. file — a tool
  13. lie — to recline
  14. band — a ring
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. object — to protest
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. object — a thing

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