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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bound — tied together
  4. deal — to handle
  5. ground — a position
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. rush — hurry
  13. file — a tool
  14. ground — the earth
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. ground — crushed
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. kick — in football
  24. bound — certain

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