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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.

Words on the sheet
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: clip · current · file · stock · chair · season · drill · fine

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. drill — a practice
  5. current — happening now
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. clip — a video
  9. fine — high quality
  10. clip — for paper
  11. file — a document
  12. season — in sport
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. drill — army training
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. fine — all right
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. chair — a leader
  21. drill — the tool
  22. season — of the year
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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