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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. file — a document
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mate — a partner
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. clip — a video
  12. land — to come down
  13. file — a tool
  14. mate — a friend
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. file — a line of people
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bound — tied together
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. land — ground
  23. clip — for paper
  24. foot — a measure

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