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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · pass · face · drill · last · clip · date · can

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. face — part of the head
  3. last — finally
  4. drill — the tool
  5. clip — a video
  6. spring — a coil
  7. can — to be able to
  8. face — to confront
  9. pass — a permit
  10. drill — a practice
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. can — a tin
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spring — of water
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. face — to point toward
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. date — the fruit
  22. spring — the season
  23. can — a tin
  24. drill — army training

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