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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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468
Word bank
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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. field — a subject
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — for sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. pitch — completely
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. field — farmland
  22. clip — a video
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. mine — an explosive

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