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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. lean — thin
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. plane — a tool
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. degree — an amount
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pass — a permit
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. degree — from a university
  21. snap — to click
  22. lean — to bend
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — a leader

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