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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 116 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: fork · tube · file · board · clip · field · pound · hide

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. file — a document
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. board — a committee
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. clip — for paper
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. field — farmland
  13. file — a tool
  14. field — a subject
  15. board — to get on
  16. fork — in a road
  17. tube — the underground
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. file — a line of people
  20. field — for sport
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. tube — a container

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