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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: pass · clip · pit · spring · coach · game · shower · swing

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. swing — in golf
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pass — a permit
  5. spring — of water
  6. swing — to play on
  7. shower — to wash
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. spring — the season
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pit — in a race
  17. clip — for paper
  18. swing — music
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. clip — to cut
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a match
  23. pit — a hole
  24. clip — a video

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