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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pit — a hole
  3. season — of the year
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pass — a permit
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. clip — a video
  13. pit — in a race
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rush — a thrill

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