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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fall — to drop
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pit — in a race
  6. rash — a series
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. rash — hasty
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. shower — rain
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fall — to drop
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. chip — for betting
  19. degree — temperature
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chip — to eat
  22. fall — the season
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pass — to succeed

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