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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pass — a permit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cell — in biology
  8. club — a group
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. club — for golf
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. capital — a city
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chair — a leader
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. capital — money
  20. mark — a grade
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cell — a phone
  24. wind — moving air

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