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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. spell — magic
  4. board — to get on
  5. last — to go on
  6. clip — to cut
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spell — a short time
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. hand — help
  13. spell — letters
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bound — obliged
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. bound — certain
  18. last — final
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. clip — a video
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. board — a committee
  23. pass — a permit
  24. last — finally

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