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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. row — a line
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. row — to paddle
  6. fine — all right
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pass — a permit
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spring — the season
  17. fine — high quality
  18. chest — a box
  19. spring — of water
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. hand — help
  24. spring — a coil

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