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

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. file — a line of people
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. fall — the season
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. roll — a cake
  10. fall — to drop
  11. roll — a list
  12. degree — an amount
  13. file — a document
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. swing — in golf
  18. degree — from a university
  19. fall — to drop
  20. file — a tool
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. degree — temperature
  24. arm — a part of something

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