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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: game · clip · pit · sharp · rule · saw · foot · shower

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. saw — the tool
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pit — a hole
  6. game — a match
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. sharp — clever
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — a measure
  15. shower — to wash
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pit — in a race
  19. shower — rain
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. saw — the tool
  23. clip — a video
  24. rule — a 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