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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pit — in a race
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spring — of water
  6. key — for a lock
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pit — a hole
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. key — the most important part
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. shower — rain
  18. pass — a permit
  19. key — in music
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. spring — a coil
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. racket — for tennis

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