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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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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: clip · rest · bat · kick · land · bore · pass · lean

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kick — in football
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bore — to drill
  7. land — to come down
  8. bore — to tire
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. rest — a break
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lean — thin
  16. rest — what's left
  17. clip — a video
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pass — a permit
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — to spend time

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