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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — magic
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. shower — to wash
  10. staff — employees
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pop — music
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. staff — employees
  17. season — in sport
  18. pop — to visit
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. pop — soda
  21. spell — a short time
  22. shower — rain
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. season — of the year

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