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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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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: clip · file · wound · march · game · coach · bore · deal

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. march — music
  3. file — a line of people
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. file — a document
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. march — the month
  16. wound — an injury
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. clip — for paper
  19. march — the month
  20. file — a tool
  21. bore — to tire
  22. deal — to handle
  23. clip — a video
  24. deal — a big deal

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