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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — a group
  6. file — a line of people
  7. spell — letters
  8. file — a tool
  9. can — to be able to
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a plant
  12. clip — to cut
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pit — in a race
  15. root — of a word
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. club — for golf
  18. can — a tin
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. can — a tin
  21. spell — a short time
  22. clip — a video
  23. spell — magic
  24. file — a document

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