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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pass — a permit
  4. march — the month
  5. court — for sport
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pop — soda
  8. shower — to wash
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pop — music
  16. ground — a position
  17. pop — to visit
  18. court — of law
  19. shower — rain
  20. ground — the earth
  21. court — of a king
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. ground — crushed

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