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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 a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. drill — army training
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. capital — a city
  5. fine — all right
  6. rule — government
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rule — a law
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. clip — a video
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pit — in a race
  14. branch — a division
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. drill — a practice
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. drill — the tool
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pit — a hole
  23. capital — money
  24. clip — for paper

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