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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. pass — a permit
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. wake — a trail
  14. clip — to cut
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. content — happy
  20. chest — a box
  21. content — the amount
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. prune — to trim

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