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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 wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. snap — to click
  3. cell — a phone
  4. stock — goods
  5. race — a contest
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — in biology
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. clip — to cut
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. stock — shares
  14. wound — an injury
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. clip — a video
  23. race — humankind
  24. pass — a permit

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