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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 120 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: tube · bat · spell · march · clip · lean · pass · rule

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. spell — letters
  6. lean — thin
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pass — a permit
  9. clip — a video
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. tube — a container
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. rule — government
  17. lean — to bend
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. rule — a law
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. march — the month

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