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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pass — a permit
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. file — a tool
  6. season — of the year
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pop — to visit
  9. track — a path
  10. pop — music
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. hand — help
  13. season — in sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. track — a song
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. mine — for digging
  24. file — a document

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