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

Word bank: file · ruler · stick · chest · clip · present

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. present — there
  4. clip — a video
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. clip — for paper
  7. present — a gift
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. chest — of your body
  10. present — the time now
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. chest — a box
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. ruler — for measuring

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