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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bass — low music
  4. spring — the season
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. net — after costs
  7. pass — a permit
  8. net — for catching
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. spring — of water
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. spring — a coil
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rush — hurry
  20. dip — to sink
  21. saw — the tool
  22. net — in sport
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. saw — the 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