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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. file — a tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. clip — a video
  5. file — a document
  6. ground — a position
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. ground — crushed
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. mate — to breed
  12. pit — in a race
  13. tube — a container
  14. ground — the earth
  15. fall — to drop
  16. scale — size or range
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. clip — for paper
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pit — a hole
  21. mate — a partner
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fall — the season
  24. tube — the underground

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