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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. game — a match
  5. content — happy
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. content — the amount
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cap — a lid
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. cap — of ice
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cap — a hat

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