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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mate — to breed
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. swing — music
  8. land — to come down
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. land — ground
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. mate — a friend
  14. land — a country
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pass — a permit
  17. swing — in golf
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. clip — a video
  24. swing — to play on

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