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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 124 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rule — government
  4. march — the month
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. march — music
  16. mine — for digging
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. march — the month
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. rule — a law

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