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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wake — a trail
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. shower — rain
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fine — all right
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fall — the season

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