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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. season — in sport
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. drill — a practice
  6. fork — in a road
  7. game — wild animals
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bore — to tire
  17. pass — a permit
  18. drill — army training
  19. game — a match
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. season — of the year
  24. bore — to drill

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