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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fall — the season
  3. march — the month
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — a permit
  8. clip — a video
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. fork — in a road
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fall — to drop

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