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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. last — to go on
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. file — a tool
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. clip — a video
  13. scale — in music
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. cell — in biology
  19. clip — for paper
  20. file — a document
  21. scale — size or range
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. chip — to eat

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