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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: fan · file · band · game · clip · roll · row · face

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. roll — a cake
  5. face — to confront
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — a video
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. face — part of the head
  16. clip — for paper
  17. file — a document
  18. face — to point toward
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. band — a ring
  22. clip — to cut
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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