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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. content — happy
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pass — a permit
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — the amount
  13. club — for dancing
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. club — for golf
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. drill — the tool
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. club — a group

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