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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bank — for money
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pitch — completely
  11. file — a document
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bank — for money
  14. clip — a video
  15. file — a tool
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. clip — for paper
  20. tube — a container
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. file — a line of people

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