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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pound — a weight
  3. track — a song
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. file — a document
  10. bear — the animal
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. track — to keep track
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — a video
  19. track — a path
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. clip — for paper

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