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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. court — for sport
  3. pass — a permit
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — decided
  6. last — finally
  7. fork — in a road
  8. row — to paddle
  9. root — of a plant
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a word
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. drill — army training
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. firm — a company
  22. court — of a king
  23. row — a line
  24. court — of law

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