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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. clip — for paper
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. kid — child
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. clip — to cut
  9. row — to paddle
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pop — soda
  16. pass — a permit
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. pop — music
  19. clip — a video
  20. row — a line
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bass — low music
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pop — to visit

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