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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 120 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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. file — a tool
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bore — to tire
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cap — a lid
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bound — certain
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bound — tied together
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. bore — to drill
  15. clip — a video
  16. branch — a division
  17. file — a document
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. cap — of ice
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. branch — of a tree

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