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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. kid — to tease
  3. clip — to cut
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — to get on
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pass — a permit
  8. kid — child
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. deal — to handle
  12. board — a committee
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. clip — a video
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. clip — for paper

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