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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. last — finally
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pass — a permit
  5. lean — thin
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. last — final
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. last — to go on
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. lean — to bend
  13. capital — money
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mate — a partner
  18. capital — a city
  19. mate — a friend
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mate — to breed
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. swing — to play on
  24. lean — to rest against

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