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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. pass — a permit
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rash — hasty
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. swing — music
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. mark — a trace
  20. shower — rain
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — a video
  23. rash — a series
  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