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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 116 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. scale — in music
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — in music
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — to bend
  9. game — wild animals
  10. land — ground
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. key — for a lock
  14. lean — thin
  15. hand — help
  16. land — a country
  17. pass — a permit
  18. game — a match
  19. row — a line
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. row — to paddle
  22. hand — in cards
  23. scale — size or range
  24. land — to come down

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