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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. scale — in music
  10. mine — for digging
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wake — a trail
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. scale — size or range
  19. pass — a permit
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pound — a weight
  24. stem — a stem cell

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