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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. ball — a dance
  4. file — a document
  5. rush — hurry
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — clever
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. roll — a list
  14. ball — a great time
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. clip — for paper
  18. file — a line of people
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. roll — a cake

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