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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. mine — for digging
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. march — the month
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. march — the month
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. club — a group
  15. file — a line of people
  16. clip — a video
  17. club — for dancing
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. object — to protest
  20. club — for golf
  21. plane — a tool
  22. clip — for paper
  23. march — music
  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