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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: rule · cold · clip · file · vault · patient

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. rule — a law
  3. file — a document
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. vault — a safe
  6. clip — to cut
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. file — a tool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. clip — a video
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — not warm
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. rule — government
  18. clip — for paper

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