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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 shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pass — a permit
  4. staff — a stick
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. pop — music
  8. field — farmland
  9. staff — employees
  10. spell — letters
  11. staff — employees
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pop — soda
  14. rush — hurry
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — boats
  17. field — for sport
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. field — a subject
  20. scale — size or range
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pass — to spend time

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