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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. band — a ring
  5. wake — a trail
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. clip — to cut
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bore — to tire
  11. present — the time now
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. pass — a permit
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. cell — in biology
  19. clip — a video
  20. pit — a hole
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — there
  23. clip — for paper
  24. wake — before a funeral

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