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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. kid — child
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. suit — in cards
  9. present — a gift
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. present — there
  12. spell — letters
  13. suit — to fit
  14. kid — to tease
  15. march — the month
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. march — the month
  19. suit — clothes
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. march — music
  23. present — the time now
  24. wind — moving air

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