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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pit — in a race
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fine — all right
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. clip — a video
  12. file — a line of people
  13. chip — for betting
  14. drill — a practice
  15. file — a tool
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — a hole
  18. file — a document
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. clip — for paper
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chip — to eat

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