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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: content · key · clip · deal · stock · file · arm · cold

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a document
  3. stock — goods
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. clip — a video
  6. stock — shares
  7. key — in music
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. key — the most important part
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. key — for a lock
  14. deal — to handle
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. clip — to cut
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. content — the amount
  19. file — a tool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. clip — for paper
  24. content — happy

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