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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. last — finally
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. capital — money
  7. pass — a permit
  8. game — wild animals
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. capital — a city
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. row — to paddle
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. last — to go on
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. game — a match
  20. last — final
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. row — a line

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