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

Word bank: last · bound · shower · spell · pass · mark

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — certain
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pass — a permit
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. spell — a short time
  10. last — final
  11. mark — a grade
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. last — finally
  14. spell — letters
  15. shower — rain
  16. last — to go on
  17. bound — obliged
  18. spell — magic

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