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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 116 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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a tool
  3. rest — what's left
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. rest — a break
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. squash — to crush
  9. clip — a video
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. snap — to click
  12. tear — from crying
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rest — what's left
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. clip — to cut
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. tear — from crying
  19. branch — a division
  20. clip — for paper
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pitch — completely

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