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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pass — a permit
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — decided
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fall — the season
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. firm — a company
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. field — farmland
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. wax — to grow
  24. hand — help

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