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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. bound — tied together
  3. file — a line of people
  4. march — the month
  5. staff — employees
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — to rip
  8. file — a document
  9. staff — a stick
  10. clip — a video
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bound — obliged
  14. march — music
  15. staff — employees
  16. chip — to eat
  17. march — the month
  18. bound — certain
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fall — the season
  21. file — a tool
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. clip — to cut

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