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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. staff — employees
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. march — the month
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. kid — to tease
  8. staff — employees
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. kid — child
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. march — music
  16. lean — thin
  17. hand — help
  18. march — the month
  19. lean — to bend
  20. pass — a permit
  21. chest — of your body
  22. staff — a stick
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rush — hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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