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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. clip — for paper
  4. shower — rain
  5. bank — for money
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pop — music
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. file — a line of people
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. clip — a video
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bank — for money
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bank — of a river
  22. clip — to cut
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pop — soda

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