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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 · sharp · chair · last · wound · clip · leaves · bat

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — a video
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pass — a permit
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wound — an injury
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. last — final
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chair — a leader
  16. last — to go on
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. last — finally
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. sharp — clever

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