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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bear — the animal
  3. band — a ring
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bore — to drill
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bear — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. press — a publisher
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. file — a line of people
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a tool
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. stem — to come from
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bore — to tire

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