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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wind — moving air
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. file — a line of people
  8. spring — of water
  9. charge — electricity
  10. file — a tool
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. mate — a friend
  13. charge — in control
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mate — to breed
  17. clip — for paper
  18. charge — a price
  19. file — a document
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. spring — the season
  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