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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rash — a series
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. rash — hasty
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. clip — for paper
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. hand — in cards
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. scale — in music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. sharp — clever
  22. kick — in football
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. hand — help

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