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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. field — a subject
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bear — the animal
  5. file — a tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spring — the season
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. spring — of water
  14. object — a thing
  15. bear — the animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. spring — a coil
  19. object — to protest
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. object — an aim
  24. field — farmland

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