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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. file — a line of people
  3. clip — a video
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bound — certain
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bound — tied together
  13. clip — for paper
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bound — obliged
  17. row — a line
  18. chair — a leader
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. game — a match
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. game — wild animals

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