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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bark — to shout
  4. clip — a video
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. track — a path
  7. file — a tool
  8. last — finally
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mug — a face
  12. clip — for paper
  13. last — final
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. track — a song
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. last — to go on
  18. branch — a division
  19. file — a document
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mug — a cup
  22. track — to keep track
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chip — to eat

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