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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 · nail · content · bound · trunk · clip · wound · shower

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. bound — certain
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. shower — to wash
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a tool
  9. bound — tied together
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bound — obliged
  13. content — the amount
  14. shower — rain
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. clip — a video
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a line of people
  20. clip — to cut
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. file — a document
  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