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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. cold — not warm
  3. branch — a division
  4. swing — in golf
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. season — in sport
  7. vault — a safe
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. plane — a tool
  11. pass — a permit
  12. season — of the year
  13. swing — music
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. game — a match
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. swing — to play on
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cold — an illness
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. branch — of a bank

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