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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: rock · wind · content · cue · row · arm · file · clip

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cue — for pool
  5. rock — a stone
  6. file — a tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. file — a document
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. row — to paddle
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. row — a line
  17. clip — a video
  18. content — happy
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cue — a hint
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cue — a signal
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wind — to turn a key

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