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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · clip · season · file · row · coach · jam · pitcher

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. row — a line
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. clip — for paper
  10. file — a line of people
  11. season — of the year
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. band — a ring
  17. row — to paddle
  18. clip — a video
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. band — a music group
  21. file — a document
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. clip — to cut
  24. jam — in traffic

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