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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. stock — shares
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. chest — of your body
  7. shower — rain
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. stock — goods
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chest — a box
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. clip — to cut
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — a video
  24. stock — a soup base

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