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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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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: face · fork · clip · snap · rule · tear · rest · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. face — to point toward
  3. fork — in a road
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pass — a permit
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rule — a law
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — a video
  14. snap — to click
  15. clip — for paper
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. face — to confront
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. rule — government
  24. face — part of the head

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