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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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Word bank
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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. band — a ring
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. content — the amount
  10. fall — to drop
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rest — a break
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitch — completely
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. content — happy
  20. fall — the season
  21. clip — a video
  22. bear — the animal
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bear — the animal

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