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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rush — hurry
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. row — a line
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. bark — to shout
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chip — for betting
  15. face — part of the head
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. key — the most important part
  19. face — to confront
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pass — a permit
  22. chip — to eat
  23. sharp — clever
  24. key — in music

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