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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. ball — a great time
  4. file — a tool
  5. fine — all right
  6. file — a document
  7. bulb — for light
  8. mate — a partner
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. capital — a city
  11. mate — a friend
  12. fine — high quality
  13. ball — a dance
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bulb — for light
  16. clip — to cut
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. capital — money
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. clip — for paper
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. clip — a video
  24. trunk — of a tree

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