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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: chip · bowl · clip · date · root · file · bat · pit

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bat — the animal
  3. file — a document
  4. chip — for betting
  5. pit — a hole
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. clip — for paper
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. pit — in a race
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. file — a tool
  24. bat — for baseball

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