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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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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: racket · clip · chest · nail · file · kid · perch · foot

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. foot — a measure
  3. perch — the fish
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chest — of your body
  6. clip — for paper
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — a video
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. file — a tool
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kid — to tease
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. clip — to cut
  19. chest — a box
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. perch — for a bird

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