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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. spell — letters
  5. key — in music
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. shower — to wash
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. key — for a lock
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. chair — a leader
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. key — the most important part
  19. ball — a dance
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. content — the amount
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. ball — a great time
  24. shower — rain

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