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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. object — to protest
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. band — a ring
  14. object — an aim
  15. wound — an injury
  16. object — a thing
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. shower — rain
  19. band — a music group
  20. season — in sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pit — a hole

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