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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: bat · fine · file · stem · march · band · press · fall

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. file — a document
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. fine — all right
  8. band — a ring
  9. fall — the season
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fall — to drop
  12. press — to push
  13. file — a tool
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fall — to drop
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. file — a line of people
  19. band — a music group
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. press — newspapers
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. march — music
  24. press — a publisher

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