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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bank — for money
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. bank — for money
  8. net — after costs
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. rest — a break
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pass — a permit
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. bound — obliged
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — help
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bound — certain
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bank — of a river

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