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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 120 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. current — electric
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. clip — a video
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. clip — to cut
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wake — a trail
  13. plane — a tool
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — of water
  16. bass — the fish
  17. file — a document
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bass — low music
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bark — to shout
  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