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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. sharp — clever
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. plane — a tool
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. prune — to trim
  16. clip — for paper
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cue — a hint
  19. wake — a trail
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. clip — a video
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. pass — a permit

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