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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. staff — a stick
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. capital — money
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. staff — employees
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. capital — a city
  16. perch — the fish
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pass — a permit
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. staff — employees
  24. snap — to click

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