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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — to crush
  5. net — after costs
  6. clip — a video
  7. net — in sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. clip — to cut
  12. net — for catching
  13. game — a match
  14. row — a line
  15. clip — for paper
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. chest — a box
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. game — wild animals
  22. file — a tool
  23. squash — the sport
  24. chest — of your body

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