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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: band · track · bat · row · fan · bound · wave · file

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. file — a line of people
  5. band — a music group
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bound — obliged
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. band — a ring
  12. file — a tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bound — tied together
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. row — a line
  18. track — a path
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bound — certain
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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