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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. last — finally
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. pass — a permit
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bore — to tire
  12. row — a line
  13. race — a contest
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. race — humankind
  17. mark — a grade
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. last — final
  20. mark — a trace
  21. bore — to drill
  22. row — to paddle
  23. race — the arms race
  24. last — to go on

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