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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: band · rule · kick · file · field · drill · ruler · toast

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. rule — a law
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. toast — bread
  6. drill — the tool
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. drill — army training
  12. file — a line of people
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. file — a document
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. kick — in football
  20. field — a subject
  21. rule — government
  22. drill — a practice
  23. file — a tool
  24. ruler — a monarch

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