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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a tool
  3. swing — in golf
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. chest — of your body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. file — a line of people
  8. vault — a safe
  9. chest — a box
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. swing — music
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — all right
  17. swing — to play on
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chest — of your body
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. clip — a video
  23. hand — in cards
  24. clip — to cut

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