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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. saw — the tool
  4. swing — music
  5. pass — a permit
  6. swing — to play on
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. field — a subject
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — to breed
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — in golf
  14. snap — to click
  15. can — a tin
  16. tear — to rip
  17. field — farmland
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. can — a tin
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. can — to be able to
  22. tear — from crying
  23. field — for sport
  24. saw — the tool

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