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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 120 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: mug · wake · season · row · can · content · file · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. content — the amount
  3. season — in sport
  4. row — a line
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — to rob
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. content — happy
  11. can — to be able to
  12. row — to paddle
  13. file — a tool
  14. can — a tin
  15. wake — a trail
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. mug — a face
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. clip — a video
  20. season — of the year
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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