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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. tear — to rip
  3. file — a tool
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. clip — to cut
  6. board — to get on
  7. court — of law
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. file — a document
  10. net — in sport
  11. toast — bread
  12. tear — from crying
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. clip — a video
  19. board — a committee
  20. mine — for digging
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. tear — from crying

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