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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pass — a permit
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. press — to push
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. bound — certain
  16. press — a publisher
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — rain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. press — newspapers
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rush — hurry
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bound — obliged

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