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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 · plane · present · land · staff · band · wake · date

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. file — a tool
  4. present — there
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. file — a line of people
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. band — a music group
  10. wake — a trail
  11. band — a ring
  12. present — a gift
  13. plane — a tool
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. staff — employees
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. present — the time now
  19. file — a document
  20. land — a country
  21. date — the fruit
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. date — on the calendar

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