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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. pass — a permit
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. scale — in music
  11. field — for sport
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cap — of ice
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. field — a subject
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. field — farmland
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. scale — size or range

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