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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. last — to go on
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. rash — hasty
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. last — final
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. rash — a series
  17. snap — to click
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. last — finally
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. net — for catching

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