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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  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 — a permit
  2. game — wild animals
  3. march — the month
  4. kid — to tease
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rush — hurry
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. sharp — clever
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. kid — child
  21. march — music
  22. game — a match
  23. rush — to hurry
  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