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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — soda
  9. pass — a permit
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pop — music
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bear — the animal
  17. capital — a city
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. game — a match
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. capital — money
  24. cold — an illness

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