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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. clip — for paper
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pass — a permit
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. clip — a video
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cap — a lid
  16. last — finally
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. last — final
  20. cold — not warm
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. last — to go on
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cold — an illness

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