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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. file — a tool
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. clip — a video
  5. cap — a lid
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. land — ground
  16. file — a document
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. clip — to cut
  21. prune — to trim
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cap — of ice
  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