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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: field · rule · file · pound · clip · mug · safe · nail

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — government
  3. field — for sport
  4. mug — a cup
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. file — a tool
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. mug — a face
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. mug — to rob
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. pound — a weight
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — for dogs

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