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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pit — a hole
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fine — all right
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. squash — to crush
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. last — final
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. kid — child
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. pit — in a race
  19. squash — the sport
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. fine — high quality
  23. pass — a permit
  24. sharp — with an edge

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