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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. rash — hasty
  8. perch — the fish
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. fork — in a road
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. land — a country
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. land — to come down
  18. deal — to handle
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. land — ground
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. rash — a series
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. temple — side of the head

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