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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. squash — to crush
  8. last — final
  9. clip — for paper
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. band — a music group
  13. pass — a permit
  14. clip — a video
  15. fine — all right
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. fine — high quality
  19. band — a ring
  20. last — finally
  21. march — the month
  22. last — to go on
  23. squash — the sport
  24. fine — a penalty

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