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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 120 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. clip — to cut
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. clip — a video
  7. bank — of a river
  8. charge — in control
  9. cap — a hat
  10. pass — a permit
  11. fall — to drop
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — electricity
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bank — for money
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bank — for money
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fall — the season
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. fall — to drop
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. ball — a dance

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