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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. row — a line
  9. fork — in a road
  10. face — to confront
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. net — for catching
  16. wind — moving air
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fork — a garden tool

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