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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a cake
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. file — a document
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. file — a tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. sharp — clever
  20. file — a line of people
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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