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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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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: file · row · clip · club · dip · cabinet · cell · wind

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. file — a tool
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cell — a phone
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wind — moving air
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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