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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fine — high quality
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. fine — all right
  6. shower — rain
  7. dip — to sink
  8. band — a ring
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a hole
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. kid — child
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pass — a permit
  17. mark — a trace
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. mark — a grade
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. band — a music group

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