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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 116 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 · land · cabinet · file · spell · band · charge · bark

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. band — a music group
  4. land — ground
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. charge — electricity
  7. file — a line of people
  8. spell — magic
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spell — letters
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bark — to shout
  16. land — a country
  17. spell — a short time
  18. charge — a price
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. charge — in control
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. land — to come down

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