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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pass — a permit
  5. last — to go on
  6. land — to come down
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bear — the animal
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. last — final
  12. cold — an illness
  13. last — finally
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. land — ground
  17. shower — rain
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. land — a country
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. mate — a partner

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