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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. track — a song
  3. swing — music
  4. pass — a permit
  5. track — a path
  6. capital — a city
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. vault — a safe
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. last — final
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. swing — to play on
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. swing — in golf
  22. capital — money
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. wax — to grow

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