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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wake — a trail
  4. march — music
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. ground — a position
  16. march — the month
  17. pit — a hole
  18. file — a tool
  19. pit — in a race
  20. shower — rain
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. march — the month
  24. shower — to wash

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