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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bat — the animal
  8. saw — the tool
  9. spell — magic
  10. pass — a permit
  11. spell — letters
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ball — a great time
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spell — a short time
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. ball — a round shape

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