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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. tear — to rip
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stock — shares
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — of water
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bass — the fish
  13. stock — goods
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. tear — from crying
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spring — the season
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. board — a committee
  20. pass — a permit
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. board — to get on
  23. bass — low music
  24. spring — a coil

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