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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.

Make a worksheet

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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. wind — moving air
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. cold — not warm
  18. jam — in traffic

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