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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. rule — a law
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wound — an injury
  5. perch — the fish
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pass — a permit
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. net — for catching
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. net — in sport
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rule — government
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — after costs
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wound — an injury

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