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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. squash — the sport
  5. clip — a video
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — to cut
  8. last — final
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mine — for digging
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. clip — for paper
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. hide — to keep secret

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