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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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468
Word bank
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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. cell — a phone
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pass — a permit
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. march — the month
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. march — the month
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. march — music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. degree — an amount
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mine — for digging

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