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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 116 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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. file — a line of people
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — a tool
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lean — thin
  10. march — the month
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. march — music
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. tube — the underground
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. file — a document
  17. clip — a video
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. tube — a container
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. march — the month
  24. clip — for paper

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