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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. pass — a permit
  2. last — final
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. board — a committee
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. board — to get on
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cell — a phone
  10. last — to go on
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. present — there
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. present — the time now
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. last — finally
  18. wake — a trail
  19. shower — rain
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cell — in biology
  22. present — a gift
  23. ground — crushed
  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