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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. clip — for paper
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. tube — a container
  6. fall — to drop
  7. file — a tool
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tube — the underground
  15. clip — to cut
  16. file — a line of people
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bear — the animal
  19. march — the month
  20. fall — the season
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — a video
  23. march — music
  24. prune — to trim

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