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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. row — a line
  6. last — finally
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. last — to go on
  12. pass — a permit
  13. last — final
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — high quality
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pit — a hole
  19. key — in music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pit — in a race
  22. key — for a lock
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fine — a penalty

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