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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. pass — a permit
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — help
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. field — a subject
  8. season — in sport
  9. can — a tin
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. can — a tin
  15. season — of the year
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. hand — in cards
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chest — a box
  21. can — to be able to
  22. field — farmland
  23. scale — size or range
  24. field — for sport

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