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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: present · clip · file · rule · spring · pit · hand · march

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. file — a document
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pit — in a race
  5. present — a gift
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. clip — for paper
  10. present — the time now
  11. rule — a law
  12. spring — of water
  13. present — there
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pit — a hole
  16. file — a tool
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. file — a line of people
  21. clip — a video
  22. spring — the season
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. rule — government

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