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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. staff — a stick
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. last — finally
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — moving air
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. tube — the underground
  14. last — final
  15. date — the fruit
  16. file — a document
  17. clip — a video
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. file — a tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. staff — employees
  22. last — to go on
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. staff — employees

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