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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. last — to go on
  4. roll — a list
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. roll — a cake
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. last — final
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. last — finally
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lie — an untruth
  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