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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: season · spring · clip · pass · track · rest · cell · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. spring — the season
  4. clip — to cut
  5. track — a path
  6. fall — the season
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — for paper
  9. track — to keep track
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. clip — a video
  12. season — of the year
  13. track — a song
  14. rest — a break
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. rest — what's left
  23. fall — to drop
  24. season — in sport

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