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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. content — happy
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bark — to shout
  6. content — the amount
  7. pass — a permit
  8. lie — to recline
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pit — a hole
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wound — an injury
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. lie — an untruth

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