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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. file — a tool
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bore — to tire
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — after costs
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. swing — music
  12. net — in sport
  13. file — a line of people
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. net — for catching
  17. bore — to drill
  18. file — a document
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. kid — child
  24. fan — a supporter

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