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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — soda
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — a permit
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pop — to visit
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bark — to shout
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. lean — thin
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chest — a box
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. straw — dry grass

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