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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: staff · wind · pitcher · fall · row · court · pass · pop

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. court — of law
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. staff — a stick
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pass — a permit
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pop — music
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. court — for sport
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pop — soda
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. court — of a king
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. staff — employees
  21. row — a line
  22. wind — moving air
  23. staff — employees
  24. fall — the season

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