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

Word bank: toast · march · snap · bear · wind · pass

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — bread
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pass — a permit
  11. march — the month
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bear — the animal
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. snap — to click
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. pass — to spend time

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