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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bound — tied together
  4. game — a match
  5. mug — a cup
  6. bound — certain
  7. mug — to rob
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bound — obliged
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. last — finally
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. last — to go on
  20. pass — a permit
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mug — a face
  24. lie — to recline

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