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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. clip — a video
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. fork — in a road
  5. file — a tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. track — a song
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. track — a path
  11. chip — for betting
  12. mate — a partner
  13. track — to keep track
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pound — a weight
  16. chip — to eat
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mate — to breed
  21. clip — to cut
  22. file — a line of people
  23. mate — a friend
  24. file — a document

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