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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 120 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. suit — in cards
  3. pass — a permit
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. content — happy
  6. swing — music
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. swing — to play on
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. row — to paddle
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. suit — to fit
  16. row — a line
  17. suit — clothes
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. swing — in golf
  21. content — the amount
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. racket — for tennis

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