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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. cold — not warm
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. spring — the season
  12. pass — a permit
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bore — to tire
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. degree — from a university
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wake — a trail

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