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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fall — to drop
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. season — of the year
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. fall — the season
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bark — to shout
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. root — of a word
  16. fall — to drop
  17. shower — rain
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. root — the cause
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. season — in sport
  23. root — of a plant
  24. pass — a permit

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