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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 · toast · file · date · vault · tear

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. clip — for paper
  3. file — a document
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. file — a line of people
  6. tear — to rip
  7. toast — bread
  8. tear — from crying
  9. vault — a safe
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. clip — to cut
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — a video
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — in gymnastics

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