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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: rule · mine · clip · kick · shower · pass · swing · key

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. shower — to wash
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — government
  9. clip — for paper
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — for a lock
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kick — in football
  16. swing — music
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. shower — rain
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. clip — a video
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pass — a permit
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. swing — to play on

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