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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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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 · band · march · deal · bat · roll · season · patient

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. file — a line of people
  4. season — in sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. band — a ring
  10. roll — a list
  11. file — a document
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. march — the month
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. season — of the year
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. roll — a cake
  22. file — a tool
  23. deal — to handle
  24. patient — a sick person

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