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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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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: mine · saw · pass · march · clip · shower · band · last

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. march — the month
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. clip — for paper
  9. shower — rain
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. last — to go on
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. band — a music group
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pass — a permit
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. mine — for digging

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