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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. land — a country
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. clip — to cut
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. kick — in football
  13. row — to paddle
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. pit — a hole
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rash — hasty
  19. row — a line
  20. clip — a video
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pit — in a race
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rash — a series

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