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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.

Make a worksheet

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: bark · file · bass · leaves · wind · clip · toast · bear

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. clip — to cut
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bass — low music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. clip — a video
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. toast — bread
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bark — to shout
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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