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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. sharp — clever
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pass — a permit
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bat — the animal

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