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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. pass — a permit
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — of law
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. march — the month
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. court — of a king
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. march — the month
  20. clip — to cut
  21. march — music
  22. court — for sport
  23. pass — to succeed
  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