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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — a grade
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rash — a series
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mark — a trace
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — hasty
  10. craft — a skill
  11. file — a line of people
  12. saw — the tool
  13. file — a document
  14. saw — the tool
  15. craft — boats
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. file — a tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mouse — for a computer

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