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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. root — the cause
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. tube — a container
  11. chair — a leader
  12. ground — a position
  13. tear — to rip
  14. ground — the earth
  15. hand — help
  16. root — of a plant
  17. snap — to click
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. pass — a permit
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. ground — crushed
  23. root — of a word
  24. tear — from crying

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