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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spell — a short time
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. toast — bread
  6. degree — from a university
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. clip — a video
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. clip — for paper
  12. present — there
  13. present — a gift
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. pass — a permit
  17. degree — an amount
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. date — the fruit
  21. present — the time now
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. degree — temperature
  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