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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wind — moving air
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. shower — to wash
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. row — a line
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. row — to paddle
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. ball — a great time
  18. shower — rain
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ball — a round shape

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