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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. lean — thin
  3. perch — the fish
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — to bend
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. swing — in golf
  11. pass — a permit
  12. swing — to play on
  13. roll — a list
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. roll — a cake
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. swing — music
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — to hit hard

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