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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. rule — government
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. clip — a video
  14. ground — a position
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. race — humankind
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — a permit

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