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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. file — a tool
  3. clip — to cut
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bank — for money
  6. file — a line of people
  7. chip — for betting
  8. mate — a partner
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. file — a document
  12. clip — a video
  13. mate — to breed
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bank — of a river
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bank — for money

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