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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 116 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: march · bay · fork · coach · mouse · trunk · clip · file

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. march — music
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. file — a document
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. march — the month
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. clip — a video
  22. fork — in a road
  23. file — a tool
  24. march — the month

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