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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. tube — a container
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. game — wild animals
  11. date — the fruit
  12. key — for a lock
  13. ground — a position
  14. pass — a permit
  15. key — the most important part
  16. tear — from crying
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tear — to rip
  19. branch — a division
  20. tube — the underground
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. key — in music
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tear — from crying

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