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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fine — high quality
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bass — the fish
  8. race — a contest
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — of a plant
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bass — low music
  14. fine — all right
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. race — the arms race
  18. clip — for paper
  19. root — the cause
  20. race — humankind
  21. clip — a video
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. file — a document
  24. prune — to trim

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