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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: nail · jam · bear · wound · game · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. game — a match
  6. bear — the animal
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. nail — for a hammer

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