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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: mate · clip · staff · mug · mine · spell · file · cap

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. staff — employees
  3. mate — a partner
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spell — letters
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cap — of ice
  9. spell — magic
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. file — a document
  12. cap — a lid
  13. staff — employees
  14. mate — a friend
  15. clip — a video
  16. mug — to rob
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mate — to breed
  19. staff — a stick
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cap — a hat
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — a face

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