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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mug — a cup
  8. fall — the season
  9. mug — a face
  10. rash — hasty
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rash — a series
  16. season — in sport
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. file — a line of people
  20. clip — a video
  21. kick — in football
  22. season — of the year
  23. mug — to rob
  24. file — a document

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