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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · fall · file · clip · pitcher · cold · craft · squash

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. clip — for paper
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. fall — the season
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. clip — to cut
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. craft — a skill
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. craft — boats
  21. file — a tool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. clip — a video
  24. trunk — of a tree

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