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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. lean — thin
  2. fine — all right
  3. suit — to fit
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. suit — in cards
  6. cell — in biology
  7. band — a music group
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pass — a permit
  11. band — a ring
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. cell — a phone
  14. suit — clothes
  15. lean — to bend
  16. spell — letters
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. wax — to grow
  19. spell — a short time
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. spell — magic
  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