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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. can — a tin
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pass — a permit
  5. net — for catching
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. prune — to trim
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. land — ground
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — after costs
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. net — in sport

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