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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. clip — a video
  9. prune — to trim
  10. land — ground
  11. craft — boats
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. clip — to cut
  14. file — a document
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. file — a tool
  20. land — a country
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. land — to come down
  24. prune — the fruit

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