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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. file — a line of people
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. game — a match
  9. capital — money
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pass — a permit
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. file — a document
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wound — an injury
  18. capital — a city
  19. file — a tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. sharp — clever
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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