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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. bore — to drill
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hand — help
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. capital — a city
  14. stem — to come from
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. capital — money
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wind — moving air
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. rush — 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