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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 120 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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. sharp — exactly
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. press — newspapers
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wind — moving air
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. rush — hurry
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. track — a path
  23. pass — a permit
  24. sharp — clever

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