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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. net — for catching
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cell — in biology
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. net — after costs
  7. prune — to trim
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. game — wild animals
  10. net — in sport
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — a phone
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. game — a match
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bulb — of a plant

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