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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. clip — for paper
  6. shower — to wash
  7. file — a tool
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. clip — a video
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. deal — to handle
  20. tube — a container
  21. clip — to cut
  22. shower — rain
  23. file — a line of people
  24. perch — for a bird

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