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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. roll — a cake
  5. spell — a short time
  6. object — to protest
  7. spell — letters
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. object — an aim
  10. wax — to grow
  11. last — finally
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. pass — a permit
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. roll — a list
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. object — a thing
  24. spell — magic

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