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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 · present · stock · mine · band · bear · roll · prune

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bear — the animal
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a list
  5. band — a music group
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — there
  8. stock — shares
  9. band — a ring
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. present — the time now
  13. stock — goods
  14. file — a tool
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. file — a document
  22. roll — a cake
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bear — the animal

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