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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 120 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. mate — a partner
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. race — the arms race
  9. track — a song
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. race — a contest
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. race — humankind
  18. prune — to trim

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