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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. object — to protest
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. object — an aim
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. last — finally
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. capital — money
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pass — a permit
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. last — final
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — to go on
  17. object — a thing
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. pit — in a race
  22. capital — a city
  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