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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. craft — a skill
  5. pass — a permit
  6. toast — bread
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. craft — boats
  12. file — a tool
  13. game — wild animals
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. dip — to sink
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. file — a document
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. file — a line of people
  22. game — a match
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pitch — completely

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