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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bank — for money
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fall — to drop
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bank — of a river
  15. clip — a video
  16. bank — for money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. rush — hurry
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fall — the season
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — for digging

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