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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pop — soda
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. clip — a video
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rule — a law
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pass — a permit
  13. rule — government
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fall — the season
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pop — music
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bass — low music
  23. rule — to rule out
  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