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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a line of people
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. lean — to bend
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. clip — a video
  7. file — a tool
  8. court — of a king
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. present — there
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. present — a gift
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. lean — thin
  20. court — for sport
  21. clip — to cut
  22. court — of law
  23. present — the time now
  24. jam — a tight spot

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