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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. rock — music
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pass — a permit
  8. cold — not warm
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. key — the most important part
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. ground — a position
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rock — a stone
  18. key — for a lock
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. wind — moving air
  22. key — in music
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. ground — crushed

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