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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: court · lean · pass · bay · clip · rash · pitch · press

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. clip — for paper
  6. court — of a king
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rash — a series
  9. court — of law
  10. press — a publisher
  11. lean — thin
  12. clip — a video
  13. court — for sport
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. rash — hasty
  18. press — to push
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pitch — completely

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