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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. season — in sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. pit — in a race
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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