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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. march — the month
  4. charge — in control
  5. march — the month
  6. row — a line
  7. file — a document
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. row — to paddle
  10. clip — to cut
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — electricity
  13. capital — money
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. march — music
  17. file — a line of people
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — for paper
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. capital — a city
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. row — a quarrel

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