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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. clip — to cut
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spring — of water
  7. clip — for paper
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pass — a permit
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. clip — a video
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. spring — the season
  22. kick — in football
  23. foot — a measure
  24. bat — for baseball

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