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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. march — music
  3. rule — government
  4. fall — the season
  5. march — the month
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — a permit
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rush — hurry
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rule — a law
  13. clip — a video
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. march — the month

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