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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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Word bank
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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. tear — from crying
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tear — from crying
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pass — a permit
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. game — a match
  24. perch — the fish

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