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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — high quality
  4. clip — a video
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. firm — decided
  7. firm — steady
  8. saw — the tool
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. hand — help
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. file — a tool
  14. fine — all right
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. clip — to cut
  18. firm — a company
  19. court — for sport
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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