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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 120 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: root · clip · squash · file · current · cell · cabinet · cold

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. clip — a video
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. root — of a word
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — an illness
  16. root — the cause
  17. current — happening now
  18. squash — to crush
  19. current — of water
  20. root — of a plant
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cold — not warm
  23. current — electric
  24. file — a line of people

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