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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. current — happening now
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pound — a weight
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. current — electric
  13. prune — to trim
  14. march — the month
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. march — music
  22. pass — a permit
  23. march — the month
  24. current — of water

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