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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He was locked up in 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. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. file — a tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. deal — to handle
  8. fall — the season
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. charge — in control
  12. clip — to cut
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. fall — to drop
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. charge — electricity
  18. fall — to drop
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. charge — a price
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. file — a document
  23. cell — in a prison
  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