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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pass — a permit
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. march — the month
  5. content — happy
  6. roll — a list
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. march — music
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. content — the amount
  14. roll — a cake
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. ground — crushed
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — for paper
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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