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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · pop · hide · fork · bass · pass · bat · file

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pop — music
  8. spell — letters
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pop — soda
  18. file — a document
  19. spell — magic
  20. file — a tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bat — the animal
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bass — low music

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