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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: mine · file · mate · clip · bowl · club · stand · saw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. club — for dancing
  3. mate — a friend
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. club — for golf
  6. clip — a video
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. file — a document
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mate — to breed
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. file — a tool
  16. mate — a partner
  17. club — a group
  18. clip — for paper
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. file — a line of people
  24. clip — to cut

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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