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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. board — to get on
  5. clip — for paper
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. pit — in a race
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. board — a committee
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pitch — completely
  16. mark — a trace
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. band — a music group
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. clip — a video
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. mark — a grade

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