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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pass — a permit
  5. clip — a video
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fine — all right
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fine — high quality
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — magic
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. mine — belonging to me

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