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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 116 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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468
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: file · plane · rush · clip · kick · cabinet · present · pit

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. plane — a tool
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. rush — hurry
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. clip — to cut
  12. present — there
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. file — a tool
  17. present — the time now
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. clip — a video
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pit — a hole
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. file — a document
  24. cabinet — ministers

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