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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 124 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pop — to visit
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. shower — rain
  12. clip — a video
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pop — soda
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pop — music
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. rush — hurry
  24. file — a tool

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