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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: rock · bark · last · land · mug · lie · bat · pass

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — a cup
  3. bat — the animal
  4. last — final
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. land — to come down
  7. last — finally
  8. bark — to shout
  9. lie — to recline
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. last — to go on
  20. land — ground
  21. pass — a permit
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. land — a country
  24. mug — to rob

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