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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. lean — thin
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pop — music
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. track — a song
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pop — soda
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. track — a path
  18. pop — to visit
  19. tear — to rip
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wake — a trail
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pass — to spend time

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