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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. ground — a position
  7. pass — a permit
  8. mate — to breed
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. squash — to crush
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. ground — crushed
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. ground — the earth
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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