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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. last — finally
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. stem — to come from
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. pass — to spend time

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