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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. game — a match
  4. march — music
  5. sharp — clever
  6. march — the month
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pass — a permit
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. game — wild animals
  16. chair — a leader
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chair — to sit on

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