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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. last — finally
  8. lie — to recline
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. last — to go on
  11. file — a document
  12. swing — music
  13. race — the arms race
  14. file — a line of people
  15. swing — in golf
  16. race — a contest
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. last — final
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. file — a tool
  21. swing — to play on
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. race — humankind
  24. lie — an untruth

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