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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. face — part of the head
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. track — a path
  7. wax — to grow
  8. track — to keep track
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. mark — a grade
  12. face — to confront
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. track — a song
  16. season — in sport
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. season — of the year
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. mark — a trace
  23. pound — a weight
  24. fine — high quality

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