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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. land — ground
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. land — to come down
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. chair — a leader
  9. spell — magic
  10. bat — the animal
  11. key — for a lock
  12. spell — a short time
  13. stem — to come from
  14. key — the most important part
  15. pass — a permit
  16. spell — letters
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. land — a country
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. key — in music

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