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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. file — a document
  9. mate — a partner
  10. root — of a plant
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mate — a friend
  14. root — the cause
  15. clip — a video
  16. mate — to breed
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. root — of a word
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — a group
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. club — for dancing

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