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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 120 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: clip · bark · row · file · net · rule · pit · fine

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bark — to shout
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. file — a line of people
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. net — after costs
  10. clip — a video
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — in a race
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fine — all right
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rule — government
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rule — a law
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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