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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pass — a permit
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cue — a signal
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. land — to come down
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spell — a short time
  14. net — in sport
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. snap — to click
  17. spell — letters
  18. march — the month
  19. cue — a hint
  20. march — the month
  21. cue — for pool
  22. land — a country
  23. spell — magic
  24. march — music

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