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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. race — humankind
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. last — final
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. pass — a permit
  12. club — for dancing
  13. game — a match
  14. club — for golf
  15. race — a contest
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. last — finally
  18. game — wild animals
  19. last — to go on
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — a series
  23. club — a group
  24. foot — a measure

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