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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. hand — in cards
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pass — a permit
  7. wake — a trail
  8. clip — to cut
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. land — a country
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. squash — to crush
  14. land — to come down
  15. hand — help
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. clip — a video
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. land — ground
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. pass — to spend time

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