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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. lean — thin
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rock — music
  5. ground — a position
  6. clip — to cut
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spell — a short time
  9. date — the fruit
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rock — a stone
  12. spell — letters
  13. file — a tool
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. spell — magic
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. clip — a video
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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