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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. rock — a stone
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. rock — music
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. march — the month
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. branch — a division
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. clip — to cut
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. patient — a sick person

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