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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. last — final
  5. content — the amount
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. hand — help
  9. last — finally
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pass — a permit
  13. charge — a price
  14. last — to go on
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. content — happy
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. hand — in cards
  19. charge — in control
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. charge — electricity
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. content — videos and posts

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