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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tear — to rip
  3. pass — a permit
  4. object — an aim
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. swing — music
  9. rule — a law
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. swing — in golf
  15. clip — for paper
  16. degree — an amount
  17. tear — from crying
  18. degree — temperature
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rule — government
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. swing — to play on
  23. clip — a video
  24. degree — from a university

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