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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kid — child
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bat — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. firm — decided
  12. chest — of your body
  13. season — of the year
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. spring — of water
  16. chest — a box
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — in sport
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. firm — a company
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. firm — steady
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spring — the season

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