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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pass — a permit
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bass — low music
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fork — in a road
  18. rest — a break
  19. bass — the fish
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. spring — the season
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. rest — what's left

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