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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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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 · race · date · pit · fall · last · row · fine

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. pit — in a race
  3. race — a contest
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fine — high quality
  6. clip — a video
  7. last — final
  8. fall — the season
  9. pit — a hole
  10. fine — all right
  11. fall — to drop
  12. clip — to cut
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. race — the arms race
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. clip — for paper
  19. race — humankind
  20. fall — to drop
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. row — a line
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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