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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rash — hasty
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. present — the time now
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. present — a gift
  9. pass — a permit
  10. scale — in music
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. present — there
  18. row — to paddle
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. last — final
  21. snap — to click
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — a series

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