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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. spring — the season
  5. net — for catching
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pass — a permit
  10. bank — for money
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bank — for money
  14. clip — to cut
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. spring — of water
  17. net — after costs
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bank — of a river
  20. net — in sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ball — a dance
  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