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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. land — a country
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. spring — the season
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. kid — child
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. land — to come down
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. land — ground

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