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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wax — to grow
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. fall — the season
  9. fine — all right
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. sharp — clever
  13. chair — a leader
  14. last — finally
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to spend time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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