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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. mine — for digging
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cap — a lid
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. object — to protest
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cap — a hat
  16. object — a thing
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. perch — the fish
  20. object — an aim
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pass — to spend time

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