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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. track — a path
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pass — a permit
  11. shower — to wash
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. game — a match
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. track — a song
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — to rob
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. shower — rain
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. game — wild animals
  24. track — to keep track

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