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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — letters
  4. march — music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. spell — magic
  9. snap — to click
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pass — a permit
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. kick — in football
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pass — to spend time

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