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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. file — a document
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cap — of ice
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. present — there
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. file — a tool
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. stand — to bear
  13. clip — for paper
  14. snap — to click
  15. clip — a video
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cap — a lid
  18. file — a line of people
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cap — a hat
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. present — a gift

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