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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pass — a permit
  3. last — to go on
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. last — final
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bark — to shout
  10. last — finally
  11. bound — obliged
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. date — the fruit
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bound — certain
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. sharp — with an edge

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