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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.

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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — there
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. swing — to play on
  8. mine — for digging
  9. spell — magic
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. spell — letters
  13. rock — a stone
  14. file — a document
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. pass — a permit
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. file — a line of people
  19. present — the time now
  20. swing — music
  21. spell — a short time
  22. swing — in golf
  23. file — a tool
  24. pass — to succeed

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