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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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 — a permit
  2. fall — to drop
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. net — after costs
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. sharp — clever
  11. fall — the season
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. shower — rain
  18. net — for catching
  19. bark — to shout
  20. net — in sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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