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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. club — for golf
  5. pass — a permit
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. clip — for paper
  8. club — a group
  9. clip — to cut
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. rule — a law
  14. club — for dancing
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rash — hasty
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. rule — government
  22. rash — a series
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. clip — a video

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