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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rest — a break
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. field — for sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. race — humankind
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. race — a contest
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. pitch — completely

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