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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pop — soda
  6. file — a document
  7. clip — a video
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. race — humankind
  11. file — a tool
  12. pop — to visit
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pop — music
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. race — a contest
  24. file — a line of people

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