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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bay · mine · rule · shower · file · spell · branch · clip

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. file — a document
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. clip — for paper
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. mine — for digging
  11. branch — a division
  12. spell — letters
  13. clip — a video
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rule — government
  16. spell — magic
  17. file — a tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. rule — a law
  21. spell — a short time
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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