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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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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: nail · cue · rule · clip · bore · file · date · jam

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. cue — a signal
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. file — a document
  9. bore — to drill
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. file — a line of people
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — a law
  15. cue — a hint
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bore — to tire
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — government
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cue — for pool
  23. file — a tool
  24. date — the fruit

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