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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · ruler · bowl · cell · file · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. rash — hasty
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. rash — a series
  12. clip — a video
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cell — a phone
  16. clip — for paper
  17. file — a tool
  18. cell — in a prison

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