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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. cold — an illness
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rush — hurry
  6. kick — in football
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bear — the animal
  9. field — farmland
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. field — a subject
  12. bear — the animal
  13. perch — the fish
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. field — for sport
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. perch — for a bird

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