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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: clip · rest · bear · pound · bay · file · ground · spring

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pound — a weight
  6. file — a line of people
  7. spring — a coil
  8. file — a tool
  9. clip — a video
  10. bear — the animal
  11. spring — of water
  12. ground — a position
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. spring — the season
  15. rest — what's left
  16. ground — crushed
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rest — a break
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. clip — to cut

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