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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. fork — in a road
  4. roll — a cake
  5. ground — a position
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. roll — a list
  9. craft — a skill
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. kid — child
  14. ground — crushed
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stem — to come from
  20. pass — a permit
  21. ground — the earth
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. fork — a garden tool

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