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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. net — in sport
  3. track — a path
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. game — wild animals
  7. track — a song
  8. squash — the sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. rash — a series
  11. game — a match
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. track — to keep track
  17. squash — to crush
  18. net — for catching
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. spell — letters
  24. pass — to spend time

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