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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. mark — a grade
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. row — a line
  8. race — humankind
  9. land — a country
  10. tear — from crying
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. land — ground
  13. race — a contest
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a path
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pass — a permit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. land — to come down
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. race — the arms race
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mark — a trace
  24. track — a song

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