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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. game — a match
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bark — to shout
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pass — a permit
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wind — moving air

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