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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 116 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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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: dip · clip · file · bark · mouse · capital · row · rule

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. row — a line
  3. file — a document
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. file — a line of people
  9. row — to paddle
  10. capital — money
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. rule — a law
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. file — a tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. rule — government
  23. clip — to cut
  24. capital — a city

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