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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: swing · nail · straw · pass · clip · ground · mate · fine

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. swing — to play on
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. ground — a position
  7. pass — a permit
  8. ground — the earth
  9. fine — high quality
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fine — all right
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. mate — a partner
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. clip — to cut
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. clip — a video
  24. nail — for a hammer

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