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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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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. spring — the season
  4. rest — a break
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tube — a container
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spell — magic
  12. spring — of water
  13. rest — what's left
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. spell — letters
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. tube — the underground
  20. spell — a short time
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. spring — a coil
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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