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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pass — a permit
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. face — to confront
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bass — low music
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bass — the fish
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pit — a hole
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pit — in a race
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  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