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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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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 · present · temple · ground · clip · rest · chip · wind

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rest — what's left
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ground — the earth
  10. file — a document
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. file — a tool
  14. chip — to eat
  15. ground — a position
  16. clip — a video
  17. rest — a break
  18. chip — for betting
  19. rest — what's left
  20. file — a line of people
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. present — there
  23. ground — crushed
  24. temple — side of the head

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