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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · clip · kid · fine · rule · pit

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. clip — a video
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. kid — child
  10. fork — in a road
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rule — a law
  15. fine — high quality
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pit — in a race
  18. kid — to tease

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