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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. row — a line
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pass — a permit
  7. wind — moving air
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. snap — to click
  12. sharp — clever
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. row — to paddle
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. craft — boats
  21. wind — moving air
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. sharp — with an edge

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