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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — hurry
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pass — a permit
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — a partner
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wind — moving air
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. leaves — lets stay

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