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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. mine — for digging
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. court — of law
  5. key — in music
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. march — the month
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. march — music
  11. game — a match
  12. key — for a lock
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pass — a permit
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. court — of a king
  19. march — the month
  20. court — for sport
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. key — the most important part

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