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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. march — music
  4. clip — a video
  5. land — to come down
  6. spring — of water
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. march — the month
  10. spring — the season
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. spring — a coil
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. firm — decided
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. file — a document
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — a company
  21. clip — to cut
  22. march — the month
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pitch — completely

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