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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. net — in sport
  3. clip — a video
  4. net — after costs
  5. kick — in football
  6. current — happening now
  7. lean — to bend
  8. file — a tool
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bark — to shout
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lean — thin
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. file — a line of people
  18. net — for catching
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. current — of water
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. rash — a series
  24. current — electric

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