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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: wind · fine · scale · file · clip · current · toast · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. clip — for paper
  3. scale — size or range
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. scale — in music
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. toast — bread
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. fine — all right
  15. file — a tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fine — high quality
  18. file — a line of people
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. file — a document
  22. current — happening now
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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