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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mate — a partner
  4. rest — a break
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rest — what's left
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. clip — to cut
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. clip — a video
  16. prune — to trim
  17. row — to paddle
  18. lie — to recline
  19. mate — to breed
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pass — a permit
  22. row — a line
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rest — what's left

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