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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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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 · face · land · ruler · shower · band · lie · wind

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. file — a tool
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. land — ground
  6. lie — to recline
  7. land — to come down
  8. file — a document
  9. face — part of the head
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. land — a country
  16. shower — to wash
  17. band — a ring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. band — a music group
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — rain
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. ruler — for measuring

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