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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hand — help
  6. current — electric
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. current — of water
  14. fork — in a road
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. current — happening now
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. perch — the fish
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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