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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: mouse · file · clip · rule · row · bowl · present · leaves

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. file — a document
  4. rule — a law
  5. file — a line of people
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. rule — government
  11. present — a gift
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. file — a tool
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. clip — a video
  19. row — a line
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. present — there
  24. present — the time now

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