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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. clip — a video
  5. swing — in golf
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. perch — the fish
  8. file — a document
  9. clip — for paper
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chest — a box
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. swing — to play on
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chest — of your body
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chest — of your body
  23. staff — employees
  24. swing — music

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