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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. fork — in a road
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. current — happening now
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. land — to come down
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cold — not warm
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pass — a permit
  15. snap — to click
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rest — what's left
  18. land — a country
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. current — of water
  23. rest — a break
  24. current — electric

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