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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bound — certain
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — in sport
  11. bound — tied together
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bound — obliged
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. season — of the year
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bulb — for light

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