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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. present — a gift
  3. clip — a video
  4. track — to keep track
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. present — the time now
  7. file — a tool
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. track — a song
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — for paper
  12. track — a path
  13. chip — to eat
  14. clip — to cut
  15. shower — rain
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. present — there
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. hand — help
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chip — for betting
  24. hand — in cards

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