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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 120 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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. hand — help
  6. row — a line
  7. charge — a price
  8. field — farmland
  9. stock — goods
  10. row — to paddle
  11. game — a match
  12. pass — a permit
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. charge — in control
  17. field — a subject
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. field — for sport
  22. game — wild animals
  23. charge — electricity
  24. lean — to rest against

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