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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. content — happy
  8. tube — the underground
  9. firm — steady
  10. firm — decided
  11. last — finally
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. shower — to wash
  14. firm — a company
  15. season — of the year
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. season — in sport
  18. content — the amount
  19. fall — the season
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. fall — to drop
  23. shower — rain
  24. tube — a container

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