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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. staff — a stick
  3. last — to go on
  4. club — for golf
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. game — wild animals
  8. staff — employees
  9. mate — a partner
  10. staff — employees
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mate — a friend
  15. club — a group
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wax — to grow
  23. club — for dancing
  24. pass — a permit

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