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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. pass — a permit
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. degree — temperature
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. degree — an amount
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. net — for catching

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