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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: file · mate · club · bat · scale · clip · rule · mine

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — for dancing
  4. file — a document
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. scale — size or range
  8. file — a tool
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — in music
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. club — a group
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. clip — a video

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