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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. cap — of ice
  4. field — for sport
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pass — a permit
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. field — a subject
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pit — a hole
  20. field — farmland
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. snap — to click
  24. perch — for a bird

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