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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: club · file · band · sharp · chest · ground · rock · rule

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rule — government
  5. chest — a box
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. rock — a stone
  10. band — a ring
  11. rock — music
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. rule — a law
  16. club — for golf
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. club — for dancing
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. sharp — clever
  23. band — a music group
  24. ground — the earth

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