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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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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: saw · march · wake · clip · cell · pass · pit · bat

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. clip — a video
  8. pit — a hole
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cell — in biology
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pit — in a race
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. saw — the tool
  24. march — music

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