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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. plane — a tool
  5. branch — a division
  6. file — a tool
  7. kid — child
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. ground — a position
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. ground — crushed
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bear — the animal
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. file — a line of people
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — to tease
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ground — the earth

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