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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. pass — a permit
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spell — a short time
  6. chest — of your body
  7. staff — employees
  8. current — of water
  9. staff — a stick
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. last — to go on
  12. staff — employees
  13. last — finally
  14. track — a path
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. track — a song
  17. chest — a box
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. spell — magic
  20. track — to keep track
  21. chest — of your body
  22. current — happening now
  23. last — final
  24. current — electric

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