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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: file · wound · game · pass · trunk · band · mate · ground

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. band — a ring
  6. mate — a partner
  7. file — a document
  8. ground — a position
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wound — an injury
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. game — wild animals
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pass — a permit
  16. file — a tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. ground — crushed
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mate — a friend

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