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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — clever
  4. band — a music group
  5. tear — from crying
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. snap — to click
  8. root — the cause
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pass — a permit
  12. game — a match
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. lean — thin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. band — a ring
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — of a plant
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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