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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. 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. last — final
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pass — a permit
  7. march — the month
  8. last — to go on
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bank — for money
  12. degree — an amount
  13. clip — a video
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. snap — to click
  16. march — the month
  17. bank — for money
  18. last — finally
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. degree — temperature
  23. march — music
  24. 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