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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. track — a song
  4. spring — of water
  5. file — a document
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. file — a tool
  11. mate — a friend
  12. clip — a video
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. land — to come down
  15. file — a line of people
  16. land — a country
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. clip — for paper
  19. track — a path
  20. mate — a partner
  21. spring — a coil
  22. land — ground
  23. spring — the season
  24. track — to keep track

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