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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. clip — a video
  3. club — a group
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. club — for golf
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. clip — to cut
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. cap — of ice
  10. game — a match
  11. cap — a hat
  12. clip — for paper
  13. game — wild animals
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pass — a permit

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