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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. land — to come down
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. file — a line of people
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. last — to go on
  11. land — a country
  12. last — final
  13. content — happy
  14. last — finally
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — ground
  17. lie — to recline
  18. clip — a video
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. file — a tool
  24. content — the amount

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