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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. band — a music group
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. band — a ring
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cold — an illness

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