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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 116 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. row — a line
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. key — in music
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pass — a permit
  19. file — a document
  20. bass — low music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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