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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: file · mark · clip · craft · swing · lean · sharp · bound

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. clip — to cut
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. file — a line of people
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lean — to bend
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bound — certain
  10. craft — boats
  11. swing — in golf
  12. clip — a video
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. swing — to play on
  15. file — a document
  16. bound — obliged
  17. mark — a grade
  18. lean — thin
  19. bound — tied together
  20. swing — music
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. craft — a skill
  24. mark — a trace

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