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

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a document
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — a video
  5. craft — a skill
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. chest — a box
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. clip — for paper
  13. staff — employees
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — boats
  18. last — final
  19. staff — employees
  20. court — of law
  21. staff — a stick
  22. clip — to cut
  23. file — a tool
  24. bowl — a dish

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