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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 · snap · squash · row · mine · fall · pit · pass

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. row — a line
  7. fall — the season
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pit — a hole
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pit — in a race
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pass — a permit
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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