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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. cell — in biology
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cell — a phone
  10. spell — letters
  11. rush — hurry
  12. ball — a dance
  13. roll — a cake
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. spell — magic
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. kick — in football
  22. ball — a great time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. roll — a list

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