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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. pass — a permit
  5. ground — a position
  6. sharp — clever
  7. key — the most important part
  8. ground — the earth
  9. key — for a lock
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. row — a line
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. row — to paddle
  20. key — in music
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bark — to shout
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. row — a quarrel

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