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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. last — final
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pass — a permit
  5. snap — to click
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. last — finally
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. last — to go on
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. rash — a series
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pop — music
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rash — hasty
  17. pop — soda
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. staff — employees
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. staff — a stick
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. staff — employees
  24. pop — to visit

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