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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. track — to keep track
  4. object — a thing
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. file — a line of people
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. track — a path
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. object — to protest
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. ball — a great time
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a tool
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. object — an aim
  23. kid — child
  24. track — a song

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