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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mate — to breed
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. mate — a friend
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. land — ground
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. pass — a permit
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. pass — to succeed

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