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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a document
  5. land — ground
  6. track — to keep track
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — to come down
  10. chest — a box
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. track — a path
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. track — a song
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. land — a country
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. cell — a phone
  23. game — a match
  24. file — a tool

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