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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a line of people
  3. land — to come down
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bank — for money
  6. staff — employees
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. prune — to trim
  11. file — a document
  12. land — ground
  13. clip — a video
  14. tube — a container
  15. staff — a stick
  16. file — a tool
  17. bank — of a river
  18. clip — to cut
  19. prune — to trim
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. tube — the underground
  23. bank — for money
  24. saw — the tool

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