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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cell — in biology
  5. snap — to click
  6. roll — a cake
  7. fine — high quality
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stock — goods
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. stock — shares
  17. fine — all right
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pass — a permit
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. roll — a list
  24. cell — in a prison

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