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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: cell · clip · file · wave · pop · rest · foot · stand

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rest — a break
  4. clip — a video
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. cell — a phone
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. rest — what's left
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. foot — a measure
  14. stand — to bear
  15. pop — music
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. file — a document
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cell — in biology
  24. file — a tool

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