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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 120 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. race — a contest
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bat — the animal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — the arms race
  14. row — to paddle
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. row — a line
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. race — humankind
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hand — help
  22. snap — to click
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hand — in cards

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