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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 120 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: staff · wind · tube · bound · track · clip · rule · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tube — the underground
  4. clip — to cut
  5. file — a document
  6. rule — a law
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bound — certain
  10. track — a path
  11. staff — employees
  12. rule — government
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bound — obliged
  16. clip — a video
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. file — a tool
  24. tube — a container

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