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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. clip — a video
  5. file — a document
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. file — a tool
  9. mate — to breed
  10. present — there
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mate — a friend
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. present — the time now
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. present — a gift
  18. clip — for paper
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. file — a line of people
  21. shower — rain
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. shower — to wash

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