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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fine — high quality
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pass — a permit
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mate — a partner
  9. clip — to cut
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mate — a friend
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. roll — a list
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. clip — a video
  21. stem — to come from
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. mate — to breed
  24. fine — all right

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