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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. game — wild animals
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kick — in football
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wake — a trail
  10. spring — of water
  11. file — a line of people
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spring — the season
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. game — a match
  22. spring — a coil
  23. file — a tool
  24. clip — a video

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