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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. court — for sport
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pop — soda
  5. land — a country
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. file — a document
  9. clip — to cut
  10. court — of law
  11. staff — employees
  12. pop — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. court — of a king
  15. clip — a video
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. drill — a practice
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wind — moving air
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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