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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rush — hurry
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cap — of ice
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. shower — rain
  15. rash — hasty
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. face — part of the head
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rash — a series
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. face — to confront

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