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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. kick — in football
  3. file — a document
  4. clip — to cut
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. field — a subject
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. charge — a price
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. date — the fruit
  17. field — for sport
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. field — farmland
  20. charge — electricity
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. charge — in control
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. file — a line of people

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