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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. last — finally
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. tube — the underground
  5. branch — a division
  6. craft — boats
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. row — to paddle
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cap — of ice
  16. last — final
  17. craft — a skill
  18. pass — a permit
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. tube — a container
  21. row — a line
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. last — to go on

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