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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. scale — in music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spell — letters
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. spell — magic
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bore — to drill
  11. wake — a trail
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spell — a short time
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bore — to tire

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