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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pass — a permit
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — a cup
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. root — the cause
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — a stone
  17. root — of a word
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wind — moving air
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. row — to paddle
  24. root — of a plant

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