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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 120 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bore — to drill
  6. pass — a permit
  7. bore — to tire
  8. lean — thin
  9. chair — a leader
  10. prune — to trim
  11. march — the month
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. march — music
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. sharp — clever
  18. race — a contest
  19. lean — to bend
  20. prune — to trim
  21. march — the month
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. race — humankind
  24. sharp — with an edge

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