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

Word bank: tear · stand · spring · clip · lean · nail · hand · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. spring — a coil
  6. clip — a video
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spring — of water
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pass — a permit
  11. stand — to bear
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. lean — to bend
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. hand — in cards
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. hand — help
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lean — thin
  23. spring — the season
  24. tear — from crying

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