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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. file — a document
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tube — a container
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. capital — a city
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. tube — the underground
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mine — for digging
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. clip — a video
  23. prune — to trim
  24. capital — money

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