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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.

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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. suit — to fit
  3. suit — in cards
  4. key — the most important part
  5. suit — clothes
  6. clip — to cut
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pass — a permit
  9. clip — a video
  10. lie — to recline
  11. key — in music
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. capital — a city
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. capital — money
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bark — to shout
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. key — for a lock
  24. racket — for tennis

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