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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. season — in sport
  3. wax — to grow
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — ground
  8. spring — a coil
  9. staff — employees
  10. spring — the season
  11. land — to come down
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. season — of the year
  18. spring — of water
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — a country
  23. pass — a permit
  24. staff — employees

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