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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 124 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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. board — to get on
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. board — a committee
  6. ground — a position
  7. band — a music group
  8. pass — a permit
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. mark — a grade
  14. staff — a stick
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mark — a trace
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kid — child
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. tear — from crying
  23. ground — the earth
  24. band — a ring

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