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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 124 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. row — a line
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pass — a permit
  11. lean — thin
  12. pop — music
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pop — soda
  15. court — of a king
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pop — to visit
  19. court — of law
  20. band — a music group
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. row — to paddle
  23. court — for sport
  24. lean — to bend

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