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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pop — to visit
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pop — music
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. can — a tin
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. pass — a permit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. last — to go on
  16. land — ground
  17. can — to be able to
  18. last — finally
  19. can — a tin
  20. last — final
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pop — soda
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wake — before a funeral

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