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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. tear — from crying
  4. clip — to cut
  5. suit — clothes
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. prune — to trim
  9. staff — employees
  10. prune — to trim
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — a permit
  14. clip — a video
  15. suit — to fit
  16. staff — a stick
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. staff — employees
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. suit — in cards
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. clip — for paper

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