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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. club — for dancing
  4. lean — thin
  5. club — for golf
  6. clip — for paper
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. roll — a cake
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. file — a tool
  15. land — ground
  16. club — a group
  17. land — a country
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. land — to come down
  20. lean — to bend
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. clip — to cut
  23. roll — a list
  24. clip — a video

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