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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wound — an injury
  4. root — the cause
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wind — moving air
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. net — after costs
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bear — the animal
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. net — in sport
  20. root — of a plant
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bear — the animal
  23. root — of a word
  24. net — for catching

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