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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 120 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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wax — to grow
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. field — a subject
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — money
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. field — for sport
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. row — to paddle
  11. march — music
  12. field — farmland
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. row — a line
  15. march — the month
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. firm — decided
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pass — a permit
  21. firm — steady
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. capital — a city
  24. firm — a company

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