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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. file — a tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. firm — a company
  5. pop — music
  6. court — of a king
  7. present — the time now
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pop — to visit
  10. firm — steady
  11. present — there
  12. pop — soda
  13. court — of law
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. file — a document
  17. firm — decided
  18. present — a gift
  19. file — a line of people
  20. court — for sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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