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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  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. pass — to spend time
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pass — a permit
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — of water
  12. deal — to handle
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. spring — the season
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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