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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pass — a permit
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. present — a gift
  11. staff — employees
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. present — the time now
  14. ground — a position
  15. row — a line
  16. bat — the animal
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. staff — a stick
  19. ground — the earth
  20. present — there
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. staff — employees
  24. bat — in an idiom

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