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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: file · spell · march · clip · bound · cue · stem · rule

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. rule — government
  5. march — music
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. march — the month
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bound — obliged
  11. march — the month
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bound — certain
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stem — to come from
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bound — tied together
  21. cue — a hint
  22. rule — a law
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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