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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. pass — a permit
  4. season — of the year
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. present — the time now
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. roll — a list
  15. present — a gift
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ground — crushed
  20. present — there
  21. roll — a cake
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. ground — the earth

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