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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fine — all right
  3. kick — in football
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pit — a hole
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. row — to paddle
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. row — a line
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pass — a permit
  16. clip — for paper
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pit — in a race
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. clip — a video
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. wound — an injury

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