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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. pit — a hole
  4. track — to keep track
  5. current — of water
  6. rush — hurry
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kid — child
  10. pass — a permit
  11. kid — to tease
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — electric
  14. track — a song
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. track — a path
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. pit — in a race
  19. kick — in football
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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