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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. rock — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. swing — in golf
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. suit — to fit
  11. clip — for paper
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. suit — in cards
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rock — a stone
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. clip — a video
  20. mine — for digging
  21. suit — clothes
  22. pass — a permit
  23. last — final
  24. pass — to spend time

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