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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pit — a hole
  4. clip — a video
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. fine — all right
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. file — a document
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. season — of the year
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bore — to drill
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pit — in a race
  17. clip — to cut
  18. season — in sport
  19. board — to get on
  20. file — a tool
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. board — a committee
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bore — to tire

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