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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 116 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 · saw · clip · ground · rash · last · bat · craft

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. saw — the tool
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. last — finally
  9. clip — a video
  10. craft — boats
  11. ground — a position
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pass — a permit
  18. bat — the animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. last — to go on
  24. bat — for baseball

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