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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. last — to go on
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bass — low music
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bass — the fish
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. last — finally
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. last — final

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