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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 124 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. track — a path
  3. file — a document
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. net — after costs
  6. track — to keep track
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stock — shares
  10. present — there
  11. net — for catching
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. clip — a video
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. present — the time now
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. track — a song
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. file — a tool
  23. stock — goods
  24. present — a gift

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