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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: band · last · land · drill · mine · net · safe · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. last — finally
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. drill — army training
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. file — a tool
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. last — to go on
  12. drill — the tool
  13. land — ground
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. file — a document
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. mine — for digging
  19. drill — a practice
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. net — after costs
  22. last — final
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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