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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: chair · pit · ground · fine · clip · rush · land · wind

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. land — ground
  5. ground — crushed
  6. land — a country
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. clip — a video
  17. land — to come down
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — high quality
  24. pit — a hole

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