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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. land — to come down
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. roll — a cake
  6. file — a line of people
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. pass — a permit
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. last — finally
  15. mate — a friend
  16. last — final
  17. mate — a partner
  18. land — ground
  19. file — a tool
  20. last — to go on
  21. roll — a list
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. file — a document
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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