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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. clip — a video
  4. fine — all right
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bank — for money
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. clip — to cut
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bank — of a river
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pass — a permit
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — high quality
  16. mine — for digging
  17. shower — rain
  18. bank — for money
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. rest — a break

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