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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. hand — in cards
  4. land — to come down
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. land — ground
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. saw — the tool
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. land — a country
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. pass — a permit
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. track — a song
  24. hide — animal skin

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