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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're almost out of ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pop — soda
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. dip — to sink
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pass — a permit
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. spring — of water
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bore — to drill
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tube — a container
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. bore — to tire
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pop — music
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. tube — the underground
  23. rule — a law
  24. spring — the season

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