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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. file — a document
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rush — hurry
  5. file — a tool
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. board — a committee
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tube — the underground
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. board — to get on
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. tube — a container
  21. wound — an injury
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wound — an injury
  24. board — a flat piece

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