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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. spell — a short time
  4. shower — rain
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pit — a hole
  8. spell — letters
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spell — magic
  13. pass — a permit
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. clip — a video
  18. stand — to bear
  19. plane — a tool
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. clip — for paper
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pass — to spend time

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