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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 walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. ground — crushed
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. file — a tool
  7. ground — a position
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. clip — to cut
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lean — thin
  16. clip — a video
  17. ground — the earth
  18. clip — for paper
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. content — the amount
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. file — a document
  24. nail — for a hammer

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