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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. face — to confront
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a tool
  5. pop — to visit
  6. clip — a video
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — to cut
  10. tear — to rip
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pop — soda
  16. march — music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. face — to point toward
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pop — music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bat — for baseball

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