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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bark — to shout
  4. squash — the sport
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. clip — a video
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. file — a document
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tube — a container

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