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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — a company
  10. pass — a permit
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. firm — decided
  14. drill — army training
  15. march — music
  16. field — a subject
  17. rule — government
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. march — the month
  20. rule — a law
  21. march — the month
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. drill — the tool
  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