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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: race · cell · craft · fine · prune · file · clip · mate

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mate — to breed
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a document
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cell — a phone
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. file — a tool
  12. clip — a video
  13. prune — to trim
  14. race — a contest
  15. cell — in biology
  16. race — humankind
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. clip — for paper
  19. craft — a skill
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mate — a friend
  22. fine — high quality
  23. race — the arms race
  24. craft — boats

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