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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 120 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rule — a law
  5. present — the time now
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — help
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. pass — a permit
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rule — government
  18. key — for a lock
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. present — a gift
  21. key — in music
  22. present — there
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — to hurry

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