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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. snap — to click
  3. cell — a phone
  4. perch — the fish
  5. shower — rain
  6. cell — in biology
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pass — a permit
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pitch — completely
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. fork — in a road

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