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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. face — to point toward
  12. saw — the tool
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spring — a coil
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spring — the season
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — in a race
  24. spring — of water

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