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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: file · mouse · mine · shower · court · saw · vault · clip

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. clip — for paper
  4. file — a line of people
  5. shower — to wash
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mine — for digging
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. file — a tool
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. clip — to cut
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. shower — rain
  17. file — a document
  18. saw — the tool
  19. clip — a video
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. vault — a safe
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. mouse — for a computer

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