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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. file — a document
  7. mine — for digging
  8. prune — to trim
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. file — a line of people
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. clip — a video
  14. bat — the animal
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. mouse — for a computer

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