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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. craft — a skill
  3. mate — a friend
  4. file — a document
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. object — to protest
  11. mate — to breed
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. object — an aim
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. craft — boats
  16. clip — to cut
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. clip — a video
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. file — a tool
  22. object — a thing
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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