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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: bore · hand · clip · leaves · file · cap · cell · wind

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. hand — in cards
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bore — to drill
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a lid
  12. hand — help
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bore — to tire
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cap — a hat
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bore — gave birth

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