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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. key — for a lock
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. clip — a video
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pass — a permit
  18. clip — for paper
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — a series
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wound — an injury

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