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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. cue — a signal
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. object — an aim
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. object — to protest
  9. clip — a video
  10. wind — moving air
  11. last — to go on
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. object — a thing
  16. cue — a hint
  17. clip — to cut
  18. file — a tool
  19. last — final
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. clip — for paper
  22. branch — a division
  23. cue — for pool
  24. last — finally

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