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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · march · file · bound · chip · shower · suit · cell

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. clip — a video
  3. cell — a phone
  4. clip — for paper
  5. suit — in cards
  6. suit — clothes
  7. file — a document
  8. chip — for betting
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. march — the month
  11. shower — to wash
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. file — a tool
  20. suit — to fit
  21. march — the month
  22. bound — obliged
  23. file — a line of people
  24. march — music

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