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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. object — an aim
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. object — to protest
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. rush — hurry
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. game — wild animals
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. pass — a permit
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. object — a thing
  21. stand — to bear
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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