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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. rush — hurry
  3. row — a line
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. pop — soda
  10. file — a tool
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. file — a line of people
  14. row — to paddle
  15. tube — the underground
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pop — music
  19. clip — to cut
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fork — in a road
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. pop — to visit
  24. tube — a container

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