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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: march · cabinet · band · file · bulb · drill · season · fan

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. season — in sport
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bulb — for light
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. drill — the tool
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. march — the month
  14. season — of the year
  15. bulb — for light
  16. file — a document
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. drill — army training
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. band — a music group
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. season — to add flavour

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