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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mate — a partner
  3. kid — to tease
  4. file — a document
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. clip — to cut
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. perch — the fish
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. clip — for paper
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. toast — bread
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a tool
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. swing — music
  22. kid — child
  23. mate — a friend
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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