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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. bank — for money
  3. file — a tool
  4. bank — of a river
  5. clip — a video
  6. wound — an injury
  7. club — for dancing
  8. fine — high quality
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. clip — for paper
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. club — for golf
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fine — all right
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bank — for money
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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