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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 · stick · bat · jam · firm · rock · present · clip

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rock — music
  4. file — a document
  5. firm — decided
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. present — there
  11. clip — a video
  12. firm — a company
  13. present — a gift
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. firm — steady
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. rock — a stone
  23. clip — to cut
  24. present — the time now

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