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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. file — a document
  3. cue — a signal
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pit — a hole
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — for pool
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. game — wild animals
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. clip — a video
  15. file — a tool
  16. branch — a division
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wound — an injury
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pit — in a race

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