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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. march — the month
  3. present — there
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tube — the underground
  8. present — the time now
  9. clip — a video
  10. tube — a container
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. clip — to cut
  13. march — the month
  14. present — a gift
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. file — a document
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. kick — in football
  22. march — music
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. temple — a place of worship

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