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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. key — the most important part
  5. board — to get on
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. key — for a lock
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. tear — from crying
  18. toast — bread
  19. pass — a permit
  20. tear — from crying
  21. board — a committee
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. key — in music
  24. cold — the Cold War

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