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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ground — a position
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pass — a permit
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for golf
  16. lean — thin
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pass — to spend time

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