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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. shower — rain
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. shower — to wash
  8. chip — to eat
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pass — a permit
  23. chip — for betting
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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