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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: mate · rule · file · lash · bat · pass · fine · clip

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fine — all right
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pass — a permit
  7. clip — a video
  8. fine — high quality
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. rule — a law
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. rule — government
  17. file — a document
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. mate — a friend
  20. file — a tool
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mate — to breed

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