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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. object — an aim
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. clip — a video
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. clip — to cut
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. sharp — clever
  13. season — in sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. season — of the year
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. object — to protest
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pass — a permit
  22. clip — for paper
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. object — a thing

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