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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. march — music
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bark — to shout
  10. shower — rain
  11. march — the month
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. march — the month
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. shower — to wash
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. pass — a permit
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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