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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 116 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're almost out of ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. track — to keep track
  5. rock — a stone
  6. file — a document
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. clip — a video
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. row — to paddle
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. pop — music
  15. track — a song
  16. kick — in football
  17. row — a line
  18. track — a path
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. rash — a series
  22. rock — music
  23. rash — hasty
  24. pop — to visit

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