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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. march — the month
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wax — to grow
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. degree — an amount
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. march — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. march — the month
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. mine — for digging
  18. vault — a safe
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pass — a permit
  21. degree — temperature
  22. staff — a stick
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pass — to spend time

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