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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. file — a document
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — a face
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. file — a tool
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. saw — the tool
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. mug — to rob
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. file — a line of people
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. clip — for paper
  21. saw — the tool
  22. sharp — clever
  23. clip — a video
  24. drill — the tool

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